India tells China to stick to its side, says no soldier missing

India on Thursday requested China to limit its actions to its facet of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) whereas rubbishing Chinese claims of sovereignty over Galwan Valley, even because the Indian Army stated that no soldier was “missing in action” after the violent brawl of June 15.

Indian and Chinese delegations, led by main generals, met on Thursday close to Patrol Point 14 in Galwan Valley as a part of army engagements to defuse tensions on the disputed border. This was the seventh assembly between Major General Abhijit Bapat, commander of Karu-based headquarters 3 Infantry Division, and his Chinese counterpart because the stand-off started in early May, and the third after Monday night time’s conflict that left 20 Indian troopers useless.

“The two sides had a long discussion on the border situation after the clash. They agreed to hold more talks in the coming days. These talks will be held at different levels,” an Indian Army official stated on situation of anonymity.

Amid the persevering with contacts through army and diplomatic channels, India requested the Chinese facet to restrict its actions to its facet of the LAC – a big transfer following exterior affairs minister S Jaishankar’s assertion throughout a cellphone dialog along with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on Wednesday, that Chinese troops entered the Indian facet in Galwan Valley and sought to erect a construction.

“Given its responsible approach to border management, India is very clear that all its activities are always within the Indian side of the LAC. We expect the Chinese side to also confine its activities to its side of the LAC,” exterior affairs ministry spokesperson Anurag Srivastava informed a weekly media briefing.

Earlier within the day, Srivastava dismissed the Chinese army’s declare of sovereignty over Galwan Valley, which is on the coronary heart of the stand-off. He pointed to the June 6 settlement reached at a gathering of senior army commanders for de-escalation and disengagement alongside the LAC, and stated: “Making exaggerated and untenable claims is contrary to this understanding.”

After the conflict of June 15, an announcement in Mandarin issued by the Western Command of China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) stated: “The sovereignty of the Galwan River Valley has always been ours.”

The Indian Army additionally asserted that no troopers have been lacking in motion after the June 15 brawl in Galwan Valley, through which the Chinese facet additionally purportedly suffered casualties.

“It is clarified that there are no Indian troops missing in action,” the military stated in a terse assertion, responding to studies that some troops have been unaccounted for after the seven-hour conflict that concerned greater than 500 rival troops.

The June 15 conflict marked the primary Indian casualties in a border skirmish with PLA since October 1975, when Chinese troops ambushed an Indian patrol in Arunachal Pradesh’s Tulung La sector and shot 4 troopers useless.

The troopers exchanged blows, threw stones at one another, and Chinese troops attacked Indian troopers with iron rods and nail-studded golf equipment. Some troopers from each side fell into the river and their our bodies have been retrieved on Tuesday morning, Indian Army officers stated on situation of anonymity.

The brawl left 76 Indian troopers injured, together with 18 with critical accidents who are actually stated to be steady. Indian Army officers claimed 43 Chinese have been killed or significantly injured, citing radio intercepts and different intelligence. Fatal casualties on the Chinese facet reportedly embrace a colonel, however HT couldn’t independently confirm this.

The exterior affairs ministry stated India had anticipated de-escalation and disengagement alongside the LAC in Eastern Ladakh to “unfold smoothly” after senior army commanders of each side reached a consensus on these efforts throughout the assembly in Chushul-Moldo area on June 6.

External affairs ministry spokesperson Srivastava reiterated India’s assertion the Chinese facet was guilty for the violence because it “departed from the consensus to respect the LAC in Galwan Valley”.

The violent face-off of June 15, he stated, occurred “when the Chinese side unilaterally attempted to change the status quo there” and took “premeditated and planned action that was directly responsible for the resulting violence and casualties suffered by both sides”. He added: “This could have been avoided had the agreement at the higher level been scrupulously followed by the Chinese side.”

Srivastava stated that in his cellphone dialog with Chinese overseas minister Wang Yi on Wednesday, Jaishankar “conveyed that the need of the hour was for the Chinese side to reassess its actions and take corrective steps”.

He added: “They should strictly respect and observe the LAC and not take any unilateral action to alter it. It was agreed that both sides would implement the dis-engagement 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.”

The two sides are in common contact via their embassies and overseas workplaces, and have maintained communication on the army commanders’ stage on the bottom. Meetings of different established diplomatic mechanisms such because the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination (WMCC) on border affairs are being mentioned, Srivastava stated.

“While we remain firmly convinced of the need for maintenance of peace and tranquillity in the borders areas and the resolution of differences through dialogue, at the same time, as [Prime Minister Narendra Modi] stated [on Wednesday], we are also strongly committed to ensuring India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Srivastava added.

Former ambassador Rajiv Bhatia, distinguished fellow for overseas coverage research at Gateway House, stated: “We aren’t out of the woods as yet. The foreign ministers of the two sides had a candid conversation and the crux of the matter was outlined in India’s readout – that the consensus reached on June 6 was broken by the Chinese side.”

“Things are very fluid and there is trouble at other points of the LAC though we are not focusing on them. We have made our position clear, but whether the Chinese side adheres to the consensus at the diplomatic or military levels remains to be seen. A solution won’t come at the military level, and that’s why the diplomatic and political levels become important,” he added.