SOURCE: TIMES NOW
As the border dispute between India and China flared up along LAC following a fresh transgression attempt by the PLA, National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval, along with top officials, on Tuesday convened a meeting to review the situation at the border.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is also expected to call another high-level meeting later today to take stock of the situation, as per ANI sources. Earlier on Monday, the Indian Army said that China’s People’s Liberation Army conducted “provocative military movements” to “unilaterally” change the status quo on the southern bank of Pangong Tso.
Indian Army spokesperson Colonel Aman Anand in a statement said: “On the night of August 29/30, PLA troops violated the previous consensus arrived at during military and diplomatic engagements during the ongoing standoff in Eastern Ladakh and carried out provocative military movements to change the status quo.”
The Indian Army took measures to strengthen its position “and thwart Chinese intentions to unilaterally change facts on the ground”, the statement said.
China’s blatant lie on situation in eastern Ladakh
China, however, denied provoking Indian soldiers and said that its troops have been “strictly observing the Line of Actual Control (LAC)” and “never crossed the line.”
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi earlier in the day said that there have been problems between India and China in eastern Ladakh along the LAC as the boundary between the two countries has not yet been demarcated.
He further said that China is committed to maintaining stability along the LAC and is ready to manage all kinds of issues through dialogue with the Indian side.
India, China engaged in border row
India and China have been locked in a bitter standoff along the LAC since April-May over the transgressions by the Chinese Army in multiple areas including the Finger area, Galwan Valley, Hot Springs and Kongrung Nala.
The tension between the two countries escalated following the June 15-16 Galwan Valley clash in which 20 Indian Army soldiers including a Colonel were killed.
Since then, the two sides have held several rounds of talks at military and diplomatic levels to end the deadlock but there has been no significant headway as China has refused to withdraw or disengage completely from the Finger area and seems to be buying time to delay its disengagement from there.
So far, the PLA has withdrawn troops from Galwan Valley and certain other friction points but has remained adamant on not withdrawing from Pangong Tso, Depsang and a couple of other areas.
