Making his first comment after the fourth round of military commanders' talks between India and China over the border dispute, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said that though he cannot guarantee the final outcome of these talks, not one inch of land can be taken away by anyone.
On his long overdue visit to Ladakh, Singh on Friday interacted with troops at Lukung, close to Pangong Tso. "Issue should be resolved as the talks are underway. I cannot guarantee to what extent it can be resolved. But, I can assure, not one inch of our land can be encroached by any power of the world,” Rajnath said after witnessing an exercise by the troops including some battle drills by troops of the Ladakh Scouts.
The exercise showcased to the minister involved application of integrated combined force in high altitude terrain, involving newer generation IAF helicopter and special forces in vertical envelopment and ground forces (mechanised columns) effecting speedy link up. A special assault drill by Ladakh Scouts was also showcased. He also shared a cup of tea with the troops.
During his visit, he was accompanied with CDS General Bipin Rawat and Army Chief General M.M. Naravane. He was briefed on the situation including actual position of the troops on both sides by the local commanders. Singh had earlier planned his visit to Leh on July 3, but had to drop it as Prime Minister Narendra Modi decided to make a surprise visit to eastern Ladakh, where Indian and Chinese forces are involved in an eyeball to eyeball situation for more than two months. While paying tributes to those who laid down their lives in the Galwan clash, Singh said: "I am happy to meet you all but also saddened because of their loss." Singh also said that he always feels proud to be standing with soldiers.
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He said India does not want war, but peace. “It has been our character not to harm any country's pride. Our nation’s pride gets hurt if someone raises an eye on our land. We will not tolerate this and will give a befitting reply," he said. Maintaining that India has always been on the path of peace, and that it has not attacked any country or encroached land, Singh said: "We got independence because of this national pride." After Leh, Singh left for Srinagar to have discussions on situation at the border with Pakistan.
After Tuesday's marathon meeting between two sides, the Indian Army has come out with a statement: "The two sides remain committed to the objective of complete disengagement. This process is intricate and requires constant verification. They are taking it forward through regular meetings at diplomatic and military level".
Army also said that the Senior Commanders reviewed the progress on implementation of the first phase of disengagement and discussed further steps to ensure complete disengagement.
But later in the day, MEA stated that India's position is clear that any unilateral attempts to change LAC will not be accepted. It also admitted that both sides have agreed at specific points to re-deploy towards their regular posts on their respective sides of LAC.
