India asks China to confine its activities to its side of LAC

PTI, Jun 18, 2020, 8:04 PM IST

New Delhi: India on Thursday asked China to confine its activities to its side of the Line of Actual Control and that it must not take any unilateral action to alter it.

Referring to the Galwan Valley clash, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said India was strongly committed to ensuring the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Speaking to reporters at an online media briefing, he also said that no Indian soldiers were missing since the Galwan Valley clash on Monday evening.

“Given its responsible approach to border management, India is very clear that all its activities are always within the Indian side of the LAC. We expect the Chinese side to also confine its activities to its side of the LAC,” Srivastava said.

He said the two sides are in regular touch through their respective embassies and foreign offices besides maintaining contacts at the ground level.

“Meetings of other established diplomatic mechanisms such as Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on Border Affairs (WMCC) are under discussion,” Srivastava said.

“While we remain firmly convinced of the need for maintenance of peace and tranquility in the borders areas and the resolution of differences through dialogue, at the same time, as the prime minister stated yesterday, we are also strongly committed to ensuring India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” he added.

The Galwan Valley was the site of the violent clash between the two militaries on Monday evening in which a Colonel and 19 other Indian Army personnel were killed.

It was the biggest confrontation along the LAC between the two forces after their 1967 clashes in Nathu La in 1967 when India lost around 80 soldiers and China lost over 300 PLA personnel.

In a telephonic conversation with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar too talked about the need for implementation of the decisions taken at the June 6 meeting.

Replying to a separate question, the MEA spokesperson said the external affairs minister will participate in the Russia-India-China (RIC) foreign ministers meeting on June 23.