Highlights
- Indian Army reports fresh clashes with Chinese troops
- Chinese troops carried out ‘provocative military movements’, India says
- Two nations, in a recent joint meeting, agreed to resolve all outstanding problems on the border
On Monday, India’s Ministry of Defence announced China ‘violated’ the previous consensus and reported fresh aggression on the Southern bank of Pangong Tso Lake – an area broadly known as the Chushul sector.
The Indian Government accused China’s People Liberation Army (PLA) troops of carrying out ‘provocative military movements to change the status quo’.
‘On the night of 29/30 August 2020, 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,’ India’s Ministry of Defence (MoD) said.
The Indian Government said the Indian Army had ‘thwarted’ Chinese intentions and a flag meeting was underway to resolve the crisis.
‘Indian troops pre-empted this PLA activity on the Southern Bank of Pangong Tso Lake, undertook measures to strengthen our positions and thwart Chinese intentions to unilaterally change facts on the ground,’ army spokesman Colonel Aman Anand said in the statement.
‘The Indian Army is committed to maintaining peace and tranquillity through dialogue but is also equally determined to protect its territorial integrity.
‘A Brigade Commander Level Flag Meeting is in progress at Chushul to resolve the issues.”
Sameer Patil, Fellow of International Security Studies Programme at the Mumbai-based think-tank, Gateway House said the latest act by the Chinese troops was China's attempt to change the narrative.
“These reports of clashes show the obstinate behaviour of the Chinese side in resolving the border standoff in Ladakh. The PLA action can also be seen as a tactic from the Chinese side to change the narrative, given that reports are trickling in on the significant casualties sustained by the PLA personnel during the June 15 clash that took place at the Galwan Valley.
"In light of the statement, last week on the military option being on the table by Gen. Bipin Rawat, the Chief of Defence Staff, these current actions by China limit India's policy options in resolving this ongoing crisis," Mr Patil said.
Earlier in June, at least 20 Indian soldiers were killed after a clash with the Chinese troops in Galwan Valley located in Indian-administered Ladakh.
In a recent meeting of the India-China Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination (WMCC), the two sides agreed on the "restoration of peace and tranquillity" in the border areas.
"The two sides had a candid and in-depth exchange of views on the existing situation in border areas," said spokesman Anurag Srivastava in a statement.
"They reaffirmed that in accordance with the agreements reached between the two Foreign Ministers and the two Special Representatives, the two sides will continue to sincerely work towards complete disengagement of the troops along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Western Sector," said the statement.
The Chinese embassy in New Delhi in a statement said the two nations agreed to ‘further cool down the border situation, properly handle the remaining issues on the ground, and jointly maintain peace and tranquillity in the border areas.’
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