BEIJING, March 28. /TASS/. The US has experience in provoking disputes between other countries in pursuit of its own interests, Wu Qian, spokesman of the Information Bureau of the Chinese Ministry of National Defense, said, commenting at a briefing on Washington's statement on New Delhi's support in the territorial dispute between China and India.

"The US has a very bad historical experience: it provokes conflicts between other countries for its own interests; the global community clearly knows that," Wu said at the briefing.

He noted that necessary mechanisms and communication channels exist between China and India. "Both sides have the ability and willingness to discuss border issues through dialogue," Wu pointed out.

According to him, the South Tibet Region has been Chinese territory since ancient times.

On March 20, the US Department of State issued a statement saying that the US recognizes Arunachal Pradesh as Indian territory and opposes any unilateral attempts to shift the line of de facto control between the countries. Earlier, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the disputed region provoked a diplomatic protest from China.

The lack of a clearly demarcated border between India and China in the Himalayas (the two countries are separated by a line of de facto control) has been a source of tension for decades. In 1959, India announced China's rejection of part of Arunachal Pradesh, and in 1962 an armed conflict erupted, resulting in the transfer of about 38,000 square kilometers of Indian-owned mountainous areas to China.

Beijing-New Delhi relations sharply escalated in May 2020, when Indian and Chinese soldiers began a standoff in eastern Ladakh. It was triggered by clashes near Pangong Tso Lake between the two countries' troops. The clashes were repeated in June in the Galwan River valley and resulted in casualties on both sides.

After a series of talks at the military and diplomatic levels, India and China gradually began mutual withdrawal of troops from the disputed areas on the border.