On a claim that the US sent Indian military intelligence, the White House said, "Can't confirm that"

The US gave key real-time information to the Indian military last year that enabled it to effectively fend off the Chinese "incursions" in the Himalayas, according to a news story, but the White House has declined to acknowledge it.

When questioned about the news story, White House National Security Council coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby said, "No, I can't confirm that," to reporters during a daily press conference on Monday. According to an exclusive report by the US News, India was able to repel a Chinese military incursion in border territory in the high Himalayas late last year thanks to previously unheard-of intelligence sharing with the US military. This action caught Beijing off guard, infuriated the People's Liberation Army in China, and may have forced the Chinese Communist Party to rethink its strategy for annexing territory near its borders.

On December 9, Indian and Chinese forces engaged in combat along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Tawang region of Arunachal Pradesh, and "a few people from both sides sustained minor casualties" as a consequence.

According to the report, which cited a source familiar with a previously unreported US intelligence review of the encounter into the Arunachal Pradesh region, "the US government for the first time provided real-time details to its Indian counterparts of the Chinese positions and force strength in advance of a PLA incursion."

It said that the material was more thorough and swiftly supplied than anything the US has ever given with the Indian military. It also contained usable satellite photos.