China bid to change status quo set off LAC row: India
Rajnath, in Moscow for SCO, may talk to Chinese minister
Blaming China for the situation over the last four months in the Ladakh sector that was a “direct result” of China trying to unilaterally change the status quo at the Line of Actual Control, India on Thursday clearly said the “way ahead” was “negotiations” through both military and diplomatic channels. New Delhi added it was “firmly committed” to a “peaceful dialogue” and urged China to “sincerely engage” India to restore peace and tranquillity at the LAC. New Delhi also made it clear that Beijing “should not take any provocative action or escalate matters”, which comes after the latest round of Chinese military actions at Pangong Tso lake in Ladakh both on the night of August 29 and on August 31.
In an escalation of the war of words, the Chinese embassy in New Delhi said in a statement that it was “seriously concerned” over and “firmly opposed” the Indian government’s decision on Wednesday to block 118 mobile apps ( on the grounds of being prejudicial to India’s security), saying these “national security” grounds were an
“excuse” and it “urges the Indian government to rectify the discriminatory practices violating World Trade Organisation ( WTO) rules”. Beijing said “suppression, self- seclusion and restrictions cannot benefit one country’s development”, and told New Delhi to “return to the right path of win- win cooperation”. New Delhi, however, remained firm on its decision, and the external affairs ministry said Thursday that companies needed to follow Indian laws. Observers see India’s decision as another instance of New Delhi seeking to impose economic costs on Beijing for the Chinese military provocations in the Ladakh sector.
The MEA also confirmed that defence minister Rajnath Singh’s visit to Moscow for a defence ministers’ meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation member countries would include a bilateral meeting with the Russian defence minister, but that there was “no information” on any similar meeting with the Chinese defence minister.
However, some television news reports indicated that Chinese defence minister Wei Fenghe had asked for a meeting with Mr Rajnath Singh to discuss the Ladakh standoff, but there was no confirmation of this. The TV reports had added that the two ministers could even meet on Friday.
The MEA also confirmed
NEW DELHI added it was ‘ firmly committed’ to a ‘ peaceful dialogue’ and urged China to ‘ sincerely engage’ India to restore peace and tranquillity at the LAC.
■ Continued from Page 1 that external affairs minister S. Jaishankar would also travel to Moscow for a SCO foreign ministers’ meeting on September
10. All eyes are on that visit to see if Mr Jaishankar would meet his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi or not.
In yet another signal to Beijing, the MEA also said India looked forward to hosting a meeting of the four- nation “Quadrilateral” -- comprising India, the United States, Japan and Australia -- that focuses on the maintenance of a rulesbased order in the Indo- Pacific region. The MEA added a meeting of the 2+ 2 bilateral dialogue at the foreign and defence ministers’ level with the United States would also be held.
But it was New Delhi’s firm message on Thursday on developments in Ladakh that are being seen as an indication of the Indian government’s resolve to continue to hold firm. In a statement at his weekly briefing on Thursday evening, Anurag Srivastava said: “I can say that the ground commanders are still holding discussions. We reiterate the consensus reached between the two foreign ministers and special representatives that the situation at the border should be handled in a responsible manner and none should not take any provocative action.”