Rajnath Singh that China also claims approximately 90,000 square kilometres of Indian territory in the Eastern Sector of the India-China boundary in Arunachal Pradesh.
Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday said that China continues to be in illegal occupation of approx 38,000 square kilometres in the Union Territory of Ladakh and it disregards various border agreements.
Speaking in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday, Singh that China also claims approximately 90,000 square kilometres of Indian territory in the Eastern Sector of the India-China boundary in Arunachal Pradesh.
"China continues to be in illegal occupation of approx 38,000 sq km in the Union Territory of Ladakh. In addition, under the so-called Sino-Pakistan 'Boundary Agreement' of 1963, Pakistan illegally ceded 5,180 sq. km. of Indian territory in PoK to China. It also claims approximately 90,000 sq. km. of Indian territory in the Eastern Sector of the India-China boundary in Arunachal Pradesh," he said.
Blaming China responsible for the faceoff in eastern Ladakh, the minister stressed that observing the Line of Actual Control (LAC) is needed for peace in the border areas.
“The deployment of the troops by China goes against the 1993 and 1996 Agreements. Respecting and strictly observing Line of Actual Control is the basis for peace & tranquillity in the border areas," the minister told the Upper House of the Parliament.
Rajnath also hailed the armed forces and said that their conduct throughout India-China border clashes showed that they maintained 'Sayyam' and displayed 'Shaurya', in face of provocative actions by the Chinese army.
"Conduct of our armed forces throughout these incidents shows that while they maintained 'Sayyam' in face of provocative actions, they also equally displayed 'Shaurya' when required to protect the territorial integrity of India."
"While our armed forces abide scrupulously by it, this has not been reciprocated by the Chinese side," he added.
Recalling the Galwan Valley incident, he said, "On 15 June, Col Santosh Babu, along with his 19 brave soldiers, made the supreme sacrifice in Galwan Valley towards the cause of defending the territorial integrity of India. Our Prime Minister himself went to Ladakh to boost the morale of forces."
The minister on Tuesday spoke about the skirmish and said that "the issue was still unresolved as China does not accept customary and peripheral alignment of Sino-India border" and this has affected the "peace and tranquility along the border".
"Since April, we have seen increase in troops and weapons deployment along LAC in Ladakh," the defence minister said. He added that China's violent conduct along the LAC is violation of all existing agreements and there was a face-off in Galwan on June 15 in which Indian forces inflicted heavy casualties on Chinese forces.
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