In this file photo, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is seen with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi when he visited Beijing. (PTI Photo/File)
India-China Border Face-off Latest News Live Update: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi held a phone conversation Wednesday afternoon in the wake of a violent face-off in the Galwan valley of Ladakh. In a statement, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said “EAM conveyed the protest of the Government of India in the strongest terms” and that it will have a “serious impact” on the bilateral relationship. It also said it was agreed that the overall situation would be handled in a responsible manner, and both sides would implement the disengagement understanding of June 6 sincerely. “Neither side would take any action to escalate matters and instead, ensure peace and tranquillity as per bilateral agreements and protocols,” it added.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, meanwhile, said the sacrifices of soldiers along the border “will not go in vain”. He has called for an all-party meeting at 5 pm on Friday, June 19 to discuss the situation along the India-China border. Presidents of various political parties are expected to take part in the virtual meeting.
In the worst flare-up on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in more than five decades, 20 Indian Army personnel, including the commanding officer of 16 Bihar, were killed Monday night in violent face-off with Chinese troops in the Galwan valley of Ladakh where disengagement of troops on either side was underway. The Army said there were casualties on both sides, although Beijing was silent on People’s Liberation Army (PLA) losses.
The last deaths at the LAC were in 1975 when an Indian patrol was ambushed by Chinese soldiers in Arunachal Pradesh. A violent clash between the two sides on the border had taken place at Nathu La in 1967.
People stand by the banks of the Pangong Lake, near the India-China border in Ladakh. (AP Photo: Channi Anand)
Reacting on the violent Galwan face-off, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat said that China betrayed by attacking on the unarmed Indian soldiers and repeated 1962 in a way. “China has once again betrayed us by attacking our soldiers while we were having continuous peace dialogues. And the way our soldiers were attacked there, China has repeated 1962,” CM Rawat told reporters. “But the way our soldiers gave a befitting reply to China and sacrificed their lives, China should understand that this is India of 2020 not what it was in 1962. Indian army can face anyone. Now, China’ misconception should be cleared,” Rawat said.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi held a phone conversation this afternoon in the wake of recent developments in Ladakh. In a statement, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said, "EAM conveyed the protest of the Government of India in the strongest terms on the violent face-off in Galwan Valley on 15 June 2020."
In the statement, the MEA said Jaishankar recalled that at the meeting of senior military commanders held on June 6, an agreement was reached on de-escalation and disengagement along the LAC. "Ground commanders were meeting regularly to implement this consensus throughout the last week. While there was some progress, the Chinese side sought to erect a structure in Galwan valley on our side of the LAC. While this became a source of dispute, the Chinese side took pre-meditated and planned action that was directly responsible for the resulting violence and casualties. It reflected an intent to change the facts on ground in violation of all our agreements to not change the status quo," it said.
It further said the EAM underlined that this unprecedented development will have a serious impact on the bilateral relationship. "The need of the hour was for the Chinese side to reassess its actions and take corrective steps," the MEA said, adding that it was agreed the overall situation would be handled in a responsible manner, and both sides would implement the disengagement understanding of June 6 sincerely.
Posing several hard questions to the BJP government, Congress president Sonia Gandhi asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to tell the country how China was able to occupy Indian territory. In a video message, she said the Prime minister should disclose to the country the situation on the ground in the Galwan Valley. “The Prime Minister should come before the country and tell the nation the truth as to how China occupied Indian soil and why 20 Indian soldiers had to lay down their lives. What is the situation on the ground? Are our Army officers or soldiers still missing? How many of our Army officers and soldiers are seriously injured,” Gandhi asked. “What is the thinking, policy and solution of the Government to deal with the situation….We want to assure that the Congress party stands with the Army, soldiers and their families and the government in this hour of crisis. I am confident that in this challenging time the entire country will unite and face the enemy. I urge the Prime Minister to come before the nation at this time of crisis and reassure the country on the basis of truth and facts.”
Reacting on the Galwan face-off, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said, "The pain of losing our brave soldiers while protecting our motherland at Ladakh’s Galwan can not be put in words." He also said that the entire nation and the Narendra Modi-led government stands firmly with their families in this hour of grief.
During his virtual meeting with Chief Ministers on Covid-19, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the sacrifices of soldiers along the border will not go in vain. This was his first reaction on the Army's violent faceoff with Chinese troops in the Galwan valley of Ladakh. "India wants peace but is capable of giving a befitting reply, if instigated," PM Modi said. PTI
The Indian Army has released the names of soldiers who were killed in Monday night's violent clashes with Chinese troops in the Galwan valley of Ladakh. The Army said there were casualties on both sides, although Beijing was silent on PLA losses. This is the first time in the last 45 years that Indian or Chinese troops have been killed on the Line of Actual Control.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi Wednesday called for an all-party meeting at 5 pm on Friday, June 19 to discuss the situation along the India-China border. Presidents of various political parties are expected to take part in the virtual meeting.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh tweets: The loss of soldiers in Galwan is deeply disturbing and painful. Our soldiers displayed exemplary courage and valour in the line of duty and sacrificed their lives in the highest traditions of the Indian Army. The Nation will never forget their bravery and sacrifice. My heart goes out to the families of the fallen soldiers. The nation stand shoulder to shoulder with them in this difficult hour. We are proud of the bravery and courage of India’s breavehearts.
A special train that was to carry 1,600 migrant workers on their way to Leh from Dumka in Jharkhand for construction work of the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) was cancelled on Tuesday, following tensions between India and China in the region, officials said. The train was cancelled keeping in view the safety of workers, Dumka Deputy Commissioner Rajeshwari B said.
The Indian Army’s first combat casualties in decades along the LAC with China in Ladakh have put the ruling BJP in a spot over making good its promise of muscular nationalism while controlling its jingoist reflexes, both of which have been the party’s calling card to differentiate itself from domestic political competition.
BJP leaders, who have been asked to avoid commenting on China and making provocative remarks, now project the standoff as the result of a display of India’s assertive stance on its borders since Narendra Modi came to power in 2014 and the recent spurt in India’s attempts to build border infrastructure infuriating China.
Colonel Bikkumalla Santosh Babu, who was from Telangana, was one of the 20 Army personnel killed in clashes with China. Commanding Officer, 16 Bihar, Santosh had been serving in Ladakh for one-and-a-half years. His mother told The Indian Express: “I am proud my son sacrificed his life for our country, but as a mother, I am devastated. He was the kind of person who wouldn’t think twice before putting his life in danger to save someone else’s. He was like that since childhood… It is yet to sink in that he is no more; that he won’t greet me with ‘Amma’ again in his booming voice.”
"We are closely monitoring the situation between Indian and Chinese forces along the Line of Actual Control. We note the Indian military has announced that 20 soldiers have died, and we offer our condolences to their families," a US State Department spokesperson was quoted as saying by news agency PTI. The spokesperson reportedly added: "During their phone call on June 2, 2020, President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi had discussed the situation along the India-China border."
Clearly, much is being lost in translation even as Chinese adventurism breaches the understanding underlined in several meetings between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping. New Delhi should activate all political lines of communication with Beijing, including the ones between the special representatives to the border negotiations and the foreign ministers, to make this point and take it forward. Read The Indian Express editorial 'An inflection point'
Demanding answers on the staff off, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi questioned why the prime minister was silent. "Why is the PM silent? Why is he hiding? Enough is enough. We need to know what has happened. How dare China kill our soldiers? How dare they take our land?" Yesterday Gandhi expressed condolences to the families of the army men who lost their lives. "Words cannot describe the pain I feel for the officers and men who sacrificed their lives for our country. My condolences to all their loved ones. We stand with you in this difficult time."
The deaths of 20 soldiers in the Galwan Valley in Ladakh, where Indian and Chinese forces are facing off, is the first such incident in 45 years. According to Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, Congress leader in Lok Sabha, this escalation “underlines the scale of the problem and the challenge ahead” for New Delhi in its dealings with Beijing. Chowdhury argues in The Indian Express that “China has clearly twisted the crisis into a strategic opportunity by taking advantage of the geo-political distraction”.
The last military skirmish between India and China took place at Nathu La in September 1967. Before the skirmish escalated to artillery guns and threats of fighter jets, there was a scuffle between the soldiers of the two armies. The clash eventually left 88 Indian soldiers dead. More than 300 Chinese soldiers were killed. Read our explainer
AS New Delhi plans its next military and diplomatic steps to deal with the unprecedented LAC standoff with China which cost the lives of 20 Indian Armymen Monday, on its table will be a factor that could also weigh in: the rising appetite of Chinese investors in Indian technology start-ups over the last five years.
While China may not be a big investor in the traditional sense, and business relations are viewed more in terms of the trade deficit that India suffers, it is the new economy and start-up space where China has increased its influence.
Over 2015-19, Chinese investors including Alibaba, Tencent, TR Capital and Hillhouse Capital, have invested over $5.5 billion in Indian start-ups, according to Venture Intelligence that tracks private equity, venture capital, M&A transactions and valuations, in India.
The toll — biggest since 1967 border clash at the India-China border at Sikkim and the first combat casualties since 1975 — arising out of Monday night’s violence, officials said, strikes at the heart of every bilateral agreement and understanding to maintain peace and tranquility along the India-China border since 1993. It also throws up new challenges in the already fraught road to de-escalation after 40 days of border stand-off — the longest in the last three decades. READ HERE
Security personnel in two districts of Himachal Pradesh bordering China have been put on alert following a violent face-off between China and India in Galwan valley of Ladakh.
The Himachal Pradesh police has issued an alert and an advisory in the districts of Kinnaur and Lahaul-Spiti, where security officials have been asked to take all precautionary measures to ensure security of the local population and also to collect intelligence to plan the future course of action, state police spokesperson SP Khushal Sharma said. All state intelligence units have also been alerted, he added.
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UN chief Antonio Guterres has expressed concern over reports of violence and deaths at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) between India and China and urged both sides to exercise "maximum restraint," PTi reported his spokesperson as saying on Tuesday.
Eri Kaneko, Associate Spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General, made the comments at the daily press briefing. "We are concerned about reports of violence and deaths at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) between India and China and urge both sides to exercise maximum restraint. We take positive note of reports that the two countries have engaged to deescalate the situation," Kaneko said. (PTI)