‘Onus to resolve border row not on China’

nNEWDELHI: The onus for resolving the border standoff in the Ladakh sector of the Line of Actual Control is “not on China”, the Chinese envoy has said, even as he accused Indian troops of crossing the disputed border and triggering a violent clash on June 15.

Chinese ambassador Sun Weidong made the assertions in a signed article in the latest issue of his embassy’s magazine, Chinaindia Review, which was posted online late on Wednesday night.

Referring to the June 15 clash in Galwan Valley that resulted in the death of 20 Indian soldiers and unspecified Chinese casualties and the issue of resolving the dispute and managing differences, Sun wrote: “If one analyses this incident carefully, it’s quite clear that the onus is not on China. The Indian side crossed the LAC for provocation and attacked the

Chinese border troops. “The Indian forces seriously violated agreements on border issues between the two countries and severely violated basic norms governing international relations.”

Sun contended the clash was “completely instigated by the Indian side and the responsibility does not lie with the Chinese side”. He reiterated China’s position that the June 15 incident “happened on the Chinese side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC), and the Indian side crossed the LAC first”, and the “Galwan Valley is located on the Chinese side of the LAC”. Sun’s remarks – which came on the eve of the standoff completing 100 days, as the first clash between the border troops occurred on May 5 – are unlikely to go down well with the Indian government.

There was no immediate reaction to the Chinese envoy’s article by Indian officials.