As the two countries reached the agreement during the talks between External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on Thursday evening, government sources said the Indian side strongly raised the deployment of large number of troops and military equipment by China along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh and conveyed its concern. The Chinese side could not provide a credible explanation for the troops buildup, the sources said on Friday.

Jaishankar and Wang met in Moscow on the sidelines of the meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation(SCO). The talks–the second highest political contact between the two countries in a week–lasted two-and-a-half-hours. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his Chinese counterpart Gen. Wei Fenghe had also met in Moscow on Friday on the sidelines of a SCO meet.

Jaishankar underlined that since the resumption of Ambassadorial level relations in 1976 and holding of boundary talks since 1981, India-China relations have developed on a largely positive trajectory. While there have been incidents from time to time, peace and tranquility has largely prevailed in the border areas. As a result, India-China cooperation also developed in a broad range of domains, giving the relationship a more substantive character.

While the Indian side recognized that a solution to the boundary question required time and effort, it was also clear that the maintenance of peace and tranquility on the border areas was essential to the forward development of ties. The recent incidents in eastern Ladakh, however, inevitably impacted the development of the bilateral relationship. Therefore, an urgent resolution of the current situation was in the interest of both nations.

In the meeting, the Indian side highlighted its strong concern at the massing of Chinese troops with equipment along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). The presence of such large concentration of troops was not in accordance with the 1993 and 1996 Agreements and created flash points along the LAC. The Chinese side has not provided a credible explanation for this deployment. The provocative behavior of Chinese frontline troops at numerous incidents of friction along the LAC also showed disregard for bilateral agreements and protocols.

The Indian side clearly conveyed that it expected full adherence to all agreements on management of border areas and would not countenance any attempt to change the status quo unilaterally. It was also emphasized that the Indian troops had scrupulously followed all agreements and protocols pertaining to the management of the border areas.

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“China’s PLA has responded to the hotline message sent by Indian Army. They have confirmed that the missing youths from Arunachal Pradesh have been found by their side. Further modalities to handover the persons to our authority is being worked out,” Union Minister Kiren Rijiju tweeted.

The five men who had been missing since September 2 were hunters, the army said in a statement.

Meanwhile The Army on Tuesday said Chinese troops fired shots in the air and attempted to close in on an Indian position in eastern Ladakh a day earlier as it rejected charges by China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) that it transgressed across the Line of Actual Control (LAC). The remarks by the Army came after the PLA late on Monday night alleged that the Indian troops crossed the LAC and “outrageously fired” warning shots near the Pangong lake in eastern Ladakh.

Chinese side says We have made representations through diplomatic and military channels asking them to immediately stop dangerous moves, withdraw people who crossed the line and discipline frontline troops.
Indian army said “As a result of persistent efforts of Indian Army, five missing hunters from Indian side of LAC in Upper Subansiri, who had inadvertently crossed over to other side on 2 September 2020, were traced. Chinese Army on September 8 responded on hotline and confirmed that the missing Indians have been found on their side. Formalities for their early transfer are being coordinated with the Chinese Army,”

Sources said porters and guides after dropping off cargo at forward posts often go to higher altitude to hunt for mask deer or collect herbs like “gumba”. The mask deer and the gumba, a traditional medicine, have big prices in the international grey market. It is possible the five men strayed away while looking to hunt or collect herbs, sources said.

Long-range patrols (LRPs) that need help from porters to carry supplies are common at all strategic points along the McMahon Line, the effective border between India and China.

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“The J-20 fighter jets have been operating close to the Indian territory in the last few days and the move was taken by the Chinese Air Force just a few days before their Army attempted to do incursions into newer areas in Ladakh,” government sources said .

As per sources, fighter aircraft are still carrying out extensive flying near the LAC.

India released a statement saying the Army blocked Chinese attempt to carry out “provocative military movements” to “unilaterally” change the status quo on the southern bank of Pangong Tso lake.

The J-20s reportedly operated from the Hotan airbase in Xinjiang province of China where strategic bomber and other fighters’ operational deployment is also on, the government sources added.

Meanwhile Prime Minister Narendra Modi is holding continuous meetings with persons concerned to understand the situation and it was established during the discussions that India is prepared for any eventuality. Sources added that the situation is currently under control.

On the intervening night of August 29 and 30, Chinese troops “carried out provocative military movements to change the status quo” but the attempt was thwarted by India, the government said.

Play Vide”On the night of 29/30 August 2020, PLA troops violated the prevus consensus arrived at during military and diplomatic engagements during the ongoing standoff in Eastern Ladakried out provocative military movements to change the status quo,” the Indian Army said in a statement.

Army Spokesperson Col Aman Anand said a Brigade Commander level meeting is in progress at Chushul to resolve the issues.

“Indian troops pre-empted this PLA activity on the Southern Bank of Pangong Tso Lake, undertook measures to strengthen our positions and thwart Chinese intentions to unilaterally change facts on ground. The Indian Army is committed to maintaining peace on the border.

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Today, Mr Gandhi posted a news report on Chinese mouthpiece Global Times’s praise for the Prime Minster over his comments on Friday’s all-party meet. The accompanying tweet read, “China killed our soldiers. China took our land. Then, why is China praising Mr Modi during this conflict?”

Rahul Gandhi
@RahulGandhi

China killed our soldiers.
China took our land.

Then, why is China praising Mr Modi during this conflict?

In a report titled “India knows it can’t have a war with China’,” published yesterday, the Global Times had quoted experts who said that PM Modi is “playing with words in order to avoid an escalation”. “China’s capability not only in terms of the military, but also overall and international influence, is superior to India’s,” the report read.

Also PM Modi’s “assertion that Indian forces can take all necessary steps is a show of strength for domestic audiences to appease the Indian masses and boost the Indian troops’ morale,” the report read.
Mr Gandhi has been repeatedly targetting the Prime Minister over the June 15 violence at Ladakh’s Galwan Valley – the the worst face-off since 1967, in which 20 Indian soldiers had died and 76 were injured in a clash with Chinese troops.

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“At this moment, we stand at historic cross-roads. Our Government’s decisions and actions will have serious bearings on how the future generations perceive us. Those who lead us bear the weight of a solemn duty. And in our democracy that responsibility rests with the office of the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister must always be mindful of the implications of his words and declarations on our Nation’s security as also strategic and territorial interests,” Singh said.

He added, “China is brazenly and illegally seeking to claim parts of Indian territory such as the Galwan Valley and the Pangong Tso Lake by committing multiple incursions between April 2020 till date. We cannot and will not be cowed down by threats and intimidation nor permit a compromise with our territorial integrity. The Prime Minister cannot allow them to use his words as a vindication of their position and must ensure that all organs of the government work together to tackle this crisis and prevent it from escalating further.”

The senior Congress leader also reminded the government “that disinformation is no substitute for diplomacy or decisive leadership. The truth cannot be suppressed by having pliant allies spout comforting but false statements”.

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Top government sources confirmed that Indian Army has been directed to safeguard the LAC from any cross-border aggression by the PLA, which is showing hostile intent by amassing troops in a bid to cow down the Narendra Modi government.

It is understood that specialised forces trained over the past decades for fighting on the northern front have been pushed up to the frontier to impose military costs if the red flag goes up. Unlike the PLA which moves in infantry combat vehicles and paved metalled roads to move, the Indian mountain troops are trained in guerrilla warfare and fighting in high altitude as shown by them in Kargil War.

The art of mountain fighting is the toughest as the cost of human casualties is 10 to each troop of the adversary sitting on a height. The troops from Uttarakhand, Ladakh, Gorkha, Arunachal and Sikkim have adapted to the rarefied heights over centuries and hence their capability of fighting is close quarter combats is without match. The artillery and the missiles have to have pin-pointed accuracy or else they miss the mountain target by miles,” said a former Indian Army chief.

The other thing that works for the army is that the Tibetan plateau is flat on the Chinese side while the Indian side starts from K2 peak in Karakoram, to Nanda Devi in Uttarakhand, to Kanchenjung in Sikkim and Namche Barwa across Arunachal Pradesh border. “In mountains, it is not only difficult to capture territory but more difficult to hold it,” a China expert with South Block said.

While India has noted with appreciation the voices coming out in its support from the Trump administration, including the President himself, the mood in Delhi is more like “atmanirbhar (self-reliant) Bharat” with no intent of asking anyone for military or diplomatic support. “I have my battalions lined up with armoured personnel carriers and artillery. India will not instigate or precipitate any skirmish but will reply to any transgression. The days of LAC nibbling are over. This is a battle of nerves and India is prepared to wait, come snow come sunshine,” said a senior minister.

The Modi government is very unhappy that the Chinese President Xi Jinping broke all the “peace and tranquility” promises by not reining his favourite PLA western theatre commander Gen Zhao Zongqi, who is insistent on imposing 1960 eastern Ladakh map based on exaggerated territorial claims on India. This map where China claims territory upto Kongka La was unveiled by then Chinese premier Chou En lai.

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Pm said India has always promoted peace among nations but no compromise on our borders .

PM speech ….

I salute them for their great sacrifice in their service to the Nation. I pay tributes to them with my heartfelt gratitude. In this difficult moment of grief, I express my condolences to the families of these Martyrs.

Today the entire Nation is with you. The country’s sympathies are with you. This supreme sacrifice of our Martyrs will not go in vain.

Whatever may be the situation and circumstances, India will firmly protect every inch of the country’s land and its self-respect.

India is culturally a peace-loving country. Our history has been that of a peace-loving country. The ideological mantra of India has been – लोकाः समस्ताः सुखिनों भवन्तु।

In every era, we have wished for peace and welfare of the entire world and humanity.

We have always worked closely with our neighbours in a cooperative and friendly manner. We have always wished for their development and welfare.

Whenever there have been differences of opinion, we have always tried to ensure that those differences never turned into a dispute.

We never provoke anyone, but we also do not compromise with the integrity and sovereignty of our country.

Whenever it was needed, we have demonstrated our strength, proving our capabilities in protecting and defending the integrity and sovereignty of the country.

Sacrifice and endurance are part of our national character, but at the same time bravery and valour are also equally a part of it.

I want to assure the Nation that the sacrifice made by our soldiers will not go in vain.

India’s integrity and sovereignty is supreme for us, and no one can stop us from defending it.Nobody should have any iota of doubt about this.

India wants peace. But on provocation, India will give a befitting reply.

The country will be proud of the fact that our soldiers have been martyred while they were fighting. I urge all of you to pay homage to these sons by observing two minutes of silence.

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Soldiers of both nations were involved in a violent face-off at Galwan valley in Ladakh on Monday night, with both sides taking casualties.

Chinese soldiers took “pre-meditated and planned action” that was directly responsible for Monday’s clash at Galwan valley, in which 20 Indian soldiers died, Foreign Minister S Jaishankar told his China counterpart Wang Yi in a phone conversation on Wednesday.

Later on Wednesday, in response to a Chinese commander’s claim on Galwan valley that was read out at the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s briefing, India’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said, “As we have conveyed earlier today (Wednesday), External Affairs Minister and the State Councillor and Foreign Minister of China had a phone conversation on recent developments in Ladakh. Both sides have agreed that the overall situation should be handled in a responsible manner and that the understandings reached between Senior Commanders on June 6 should be implemented sincerely. Making exaggerated and untenable claims are contrary to this understanding.”

During the meeting on June 6, Lieutenant General-level talks were held to end the stand-off at Pangong Tso and a number of other areas in eastern Ladakh. In the over four-and-a-half-hour meeting, Indian had pressed for restoration of status quo and immediate withdrawal of a sizeable number of Chinese troops from all the stand-off points.

On June 15, when a small Indian patrol moved to remove a Chinese tent at the Galwan river valley at 15,000 feet, a physical fight broke out after the Chinese soldiers targeted the Indian Colonel, BL Santosh Babu. Both sides were armed with batons and rods with nails. China had agreed to remove the tent after the talks on June 6.

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Colonel B Santosh Babu of the Bihar regiment, Havildar Palani and Sepoy Ojha laid down their lives for India, the army confirmed earlier on Tuesday. “17 Indian troops who were critically injured in the line of duty at the stand-off location and exposed to sub-zero temperatures in the high altitude terrain have succumbed to their injuries. Indian Army is firmly committed to protect the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the nation,” the army’s fresh statement said on Tuesday evening.

The statement opened by saying Indian and Chinese troops “have disengaged” at the Galwan area where they earlier clashed on the night of June 15/16, indicating that they do not expect any fresh violence in the area.

India said the clash arose from “an attempt by the Chinese side to unilaterally change the status quo” on the border. “India is very clear that all its activities are always within the Indian side of the Line of Actual Control. We expect the same of the Chinese side,” said foreign ministry spokesperson Anurag Shrivastava.

The clash took place just as Chinese troops were getting ready to move away from a location per an agreement that was part of recent talks between the two sides to defuse tension. The Colonel was reportedly assaulted with stones and Indian soldiers retaliated, which led to close unarmed combat for several hours. The soldiers disengaged after midnight.

Beijing, in an aggressive statement, accused India of crossing the border, “attacking Chinese personnel”. China’s Foreign Ministry was quoted by Reuters as saying India should not take unilateral actions or stir up trouble.

The only admission of casualties on the Chinese side came from the editor of their government mouthpiece Global Times. “Based on what I know, Chinese side also suffered casualties in the Galwan Valley physical clash. I want to tell the Indian side, don’t be arrogant and misread China’s restraint as being weak. China doesn’t want to have a clash with India, but we don’t fear it,” tweeted Hu Xijin, Editor-in-Chief of Global

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Indian army said there were casualties on both sides. All the deaths are from thrown stones and rods used by soldiers. The army did not comment on this.

The India China border row seems to have turned from bad to worse even as army delegations from India and China held discussions along the LAC to break the stalemate.

The Indian army suffered multiple casualties, including that of an officer, in a “violent face off” with the PLA on Monday night in eastern Ladakh, the army said in a statement. It added that there were casualties on both sides.

Commanding Officer of the Indian Army and two soldiers were  killed in Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh on Monday night during a violent faceoff with the Chinese troops, the Army said. They said senior military officials of the two sides are holding a meeting in Galwan Valley to defuse tension. A report in China’s state-owned Global Times said the Chinese army suffered five casualties.

While the exact nature of the violent confrontation is not known yet, sources said no firearms were used. “During the de-escalation process underway in the Galwan Valley, a violent face-off took place yesterday night with casualties on both sides. The loss of lives on the Indian side includes an officer and two soldiers. Senior military officials of the two sides are currently meeting at the venue to defuse the situation,” the Army said

A statement released by the Indian Army said the casualties were suffered on Monday night at Ladakh’s Galwan Valley and that a meeting is underway between senior officials of both militaries to d the A statement released by the Indian Army on Tuesday said the casualties were suffered on Monday night and that a meeting is underway between senior officials of both militaries to defuse the situation. “During the de-escalation process underway in the Galwan Valley, a violent face-off took place yesterday night with casualties. The loss of lives on the Indian side includes an officer and two soldiers. Senior military officials of the two sides are currently meeting at the venue to defuse the situation,”

Indian and Chinese troops have been involved in border skirmishes in Sikkim and Ladakh recently. Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said he was not aware of any incident on the border with India.

A large number of Indian and Chinese troops were engaged in an eyeball-to-eyeball situation in Galwan Valley for the last five weeks. The incident comes days after Indian Army Chief Gen MM Naravane said both sides have begun disengaging from Galwan Valley.

The two armies have since thinned out some forces in a positive signal but soldiers, tanks and other armoured carriers remained heavily deployed in the high-altitude region, an official had said.

India and China fought a brief border war in 1962 and have not been able to settle their border despite two decades of talks. Both claim thousands of kilometres of territory and patrols along the undemarcated Line of Actual Control – the de-facto border – often run into each other, leading to tensions.

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