India rejects as untenable Chinese claim on Galwan
Govt accuses China of amassing troops along LAC, triggering standoff
NEW DELHI: India on Thursday squarely blamed China for the standoff along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), saying Beijing had massed troops along the disputed frontier since May, violated a recent understanding to disengage in Ladakh’s Galwan Valley and disregarded mutually agreed norms for border patrols.
The Indian position on the months-old standoff was outlined in a lengthy and sharply worded statement from the external affairs ministry as tensions simmered due to the continuing Chinese military build-up in several sections of the LAC, especially in Ladakh, which has been the focus of the face-off.
While accusing China of triggering several face-offs by trying to unilaterally change the status quo along the LAC, the Indian side rejected the Chinese side’s “unjustified and untenable” claim on the Galwan Valley. The statement also acknowledged both sides “remain deployed in large numbers in the region”.
The external affairs ministry’s statement came even as Chinese envoy Sun Weidong said in an interview to PTI that the onus wasn’t on his country to resolve the border standoff. Sun said he hoped the Indian side would meet the Chinese side halfway and avoid any actions that could complicate the situation.
The Indian side, external affairs ministry spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said, had clearly established that China’s actions had led to the increase in tensions and the violent face-off of June 15 in the Galwan Valley that left 20 Indian soldiers dead.
Explaining the context of the standoff and the issues the two sides are trying to address, Srivastava said in a statement: “At the heart of the matter is that since early May, the Chinese side has been amassing a large contingent of troops and armaments along the LAC. This is not in accordance with the provisions of our various bilateral agreements, especially the key 1993 Agreement on the Maintenance of Peace and Tranquillity along the Line of Actual Control in the India-China Border Areas.”
This agreement states each side will keep its military forces in areas along the LAC to a “minimum level compatible with friendly and good neighbourly relations”. Following the Chinese build-up, India had to make “counter deployments and the resulting tension has thereafter expressed itself”.
Referring to the Galwan Valley, the statement said a meeting of corps commanders of the two sides on June 6 had agreed on a process for de-escalation and disengagement along the LAC that “involved reciprocal actions”.
However, the Chinese side departed from these understandings and “sought to erect structures just across the LAC”. The statement added, “When this attempt was foiled, Chinese troops took violent actions on 15 June 2020 that directly resulted in casualties.”
Even before these actions, the Chinese side had hindered India’s normal and traditional patrolling pattern in the Galwan Valley since early May. The resulting face-off was addressed by ground commanders in line with the provisions of bilateral agreements and protocols.
Describing Wednesday’s meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination (WMCC) on border affairs as “a significant development”, the Indian side also noted that the corps commanders had on June 22 discussed the implementation of understandings reached between them on June 6. The foreign ministers too agreed during a phone conversation on June 17 that the disengagement understanding of June 6 would be implemented.
People familiar with developments said India has been insisting on implementing the understanding of June 6 because it includes the removal of structures built by the Chinese along the LAC in the Galwan Valley.
“We expect the Chinese side to sincerely follow up on this understanding and ensure the expeditious restoration of peace and tranquillity in the border areas. A continuation of the current situation would only vitiate the atmosphere for the development of the relationship,” the statement said.
Former ambassador Rajiv Bhatia, a distinguished fellow for foreign policy studies at Gateway House, said while there were no immediate indications of a possible conflict between the two sides, a breakthrough on the ground would depend on the actions of the Chinese side.
“The candour on the Indian side is welcome because the public is being taken into confidence. The perception is that the army commanders have reached an accord but there is much to be desired in its implementation by the Chinese side,” he said.