Galwan face-off to have serious impact on bilateral ties: India tells China
Foreign minister said China's premeditated action led to the face-off
Foreign minister said China's premeditated action led to the face-off
Foreign minister said China's premeditated action led to the face-off
Foreign minister said China's premeditated action led to the face-off
India on Wednesday told China that the unprecedented development at Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh will have serious impact on the bilateral relationship. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, in a telephonic conversation with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, said that the premeditated action from the Chinese side was responsible for violence and casualties in the region.
The Indian Army on Tuesday said 20 soldiers, including a colonel, were killed in a violent clash with Chinese troops at Galwan Valley on Monday night, in the biggest military confrontation between the two armies in over five decades. According to unconfirmed reports, the Chinese side, too, suffered over 40 casualties.
According to a foreign ministry statement, Jaishankar has conveyed to his Chinese counterpart India's protest in strongest terms on the violent face-off in Galwan.
India also demanded that Beijing reassess its actions and take corrective steps. “The two sides should scrupulously implement understanding reached by senior commanders,” Jaishankar told the Chinese foreign minister.
The minister said the Chinese action had reflected intent to change facts on ground in violation of all our agreements to not change status quo. “Troops should strictly respect Line of Actual Control and should not take any unilateral action to alter it,” he said, and asked China to handle the overall situation in a responsible manner.
A large number of Indian and Chinese troops have been engaged in an eyeball-to-eyeball situation in Galwan Valley and certain other areas of eastern Ladakh for the last five weeks, including in Pangong Tso, Galwan Valley, Demchok and Daulat Beg Oldie in eastern Ladakh.
A sizeable number of Chinese Army personnel even transgressed into the Indian side of the de-facto border in several areas including Pangong Tso.
The Indian Army has been fiercely objecting to the transgressions, and demanded their immediate withdrawal for restoration of peace and tranquillity in the area. Both sides held a series of talks in the last few days to resolve the row.
The India-China border dispute covers the 3,488-km-long LAC. China claims Arunachal Pradesh as part of southern Tibet, while India contests it.
Both sides have been asserting that pending the final resolution of the boundary issue, it is necessary to maintain peace and tranquility in the border areas.
With inputs from PTI