Reassess actions, take corrective steps: India

Sandeep Dikshit
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, June 17

In the first high-level contact after the fatal Galwan valley clash, India and China used strong language against each other while seeking to defuse the tension on the ground.

The unprecedented loss of lives on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) will have a serious impact on the bilateral relationship, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar told his counterpart Wang Yi during a telephonic conversation on Wednesday. The need of the hour was for the Chinese side to reassess its actions and take corrective steps, he added.

The gulf between the perceptions of the two Foreign Ministers mirrored the different versions of the clash given by spokespersons of both Foreign Offices. However, India and Chinese readouts of today’s conversation concurred that both leaders agreed to handle the situation in a responsible manner and sincerely implement the disengagement understanding of June 6.

The two ministers also agreed that neither side would take any action to escalate matters, but ensure peace and tranquillity as per bilateral agreements and protocols instead.

In a rare authoritative account of the events on the ground, Jaishankar said an attempt by the PLA to erect a structure in the Galwan valley on the Indian side of the LAC became a source of dispute. The PLA took premeditated and planned action that was directly responsible for the resulting violence and casualties. “It reflected the intent to change the facts on the ground in violation of all our agreements to not change the status quo,” he alleged.

Wang said the “risky act” of the Indian Army had seriously violated the agreement reached by the two countries on the border issue. “The Indian side must not misjudge the current situation and must not underestimate China’s firm will to safeguard territorial sovereignty,” he cautioned.

At the same time, the Chinese minister also spoke on the proper handling of the border situation through existing channels such as the Special Representatives on the Sino-Indian border. Wang is the Chinese Special Representative on the border issue and National Security Adviser Ajit Doval is the Indian counterpart.

They last met in December, after the reorganisation of J&K and an informal Xi-Modi summit, and had then agreed to introduce more elements of confidence-building in border management.

Rajnath meets top military brass

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday morning reviewed the LAC situation in a meeting at South Block that was attended by Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat and the three service chiefs. Later in a tweet, Singh mourned the loss of lives in the border clash: “The loss of soldiers in Galwan is deeply disturbing and painful. Our soldiers displayed exemplary courage and valour in the line of duty.” tns