India-China face off: Modi calls for all-party meeting at 5 pm on 19th June

New Delhi, June 17: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has convened an all-party virtual meet on June 19 to discuss the situation on the India-China border, his office said on Wednesday.

"In order to discuss the situation in the India-China border areas, Prime Minister @narendramodi has called for an all-party meeting at 5 pm on 19th June. Presidents of various political parties would take part in this virtual meeting," the PMO tweeted.

Atleast 20 Indian Army personnel, including a colonel were killed in a violent face-off with Chinese troops in the Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh on Monday night, the biggest military confrontation in over 5 decades that has escalated the already volatile border stand-off in the region.

Meanwhile, China on Wednesday claimed that the sovereignty of the Galwan Valley area in Ladakh "always belonged to it," a day after the armies of the two countries were engaged in a violent face-off.

The External Affairs Ministry on Tuesday said the violent face-off between armies of India and China in eastern Ladakh was the result of an attempt by the Chinese side to unilaterally change the status quo in the region.

The ministry said both sides suffered casualties that could have been avoided had the agreement arrived earlier at the higher level been scrupulously followed by the Chinese side.