Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said, " 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".
Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh addressed the Lok Sabha on the India-China border skirmish on Tuesday 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.
He asserted that the Indian forces are determined to protect security and sovereignty of the country.
"As this House is aware, China is in unauthorised occupation of about 38,000 square km of land in Ladakh. Also, under a so-called Boundary-Agreement in 1963, Pakistan illegally handed over 5180 square km of Indian land of PoK to China. China's action shows its disregard towards our various bilateral agreements. The deployment of large amounts of troops by China is a violation of the 1993 and 1996 agreement," said the Defence Minister.
"As of now, the Chinese side has mobilised a large number of troops and ammunition in the LAC and interior areas. East Ladakh and Gogra, Kongka La and Pangong Lake have several friction areas on North and South Banks," he said.
"India is committed to resolving the current issues in border areas through peaceful dialogue and consultation. To achieve this objective, I met my Chinese counterpart in Moscow on 4 September and we had an in-depth discussion with them. I clearly put our concerns before the Chinese side, which was concerned with the deployment of large numbers of troops, aggressive behaviour and unilaterally changing the status quo (which violated bilateral agreements)," said the Defence Minister.
"The House must remain confident that our armed forces will face this challenge successfully, and we are proud of them for this. The situation that persists now involves sensitive operational issues. So, I would not like to reveal more details about this. In response to China's action, our armed forces have also made appropriate counter deployments in these areas so that India's security interests are fully protected," he added.
The statement assumes significance in the backdrop of demands made by the Opposition for a debate on the issue.
The Monsoon session 2020 of Parliament began on Monday. The fourth session of the 17th Lok Sabha and 252nd session of Rajya Sabha began on Monday and subject to exigencies of government business, which may conclude on October 1.
India recently outflanked China by taking control of strategic heights near Pangong Lake`s southern bank. It thwarted an attempt by the Chinese soldiers to transgress into Indian areas near the southern bank of Pangong Tso near Chushul in Ladakh.
Notably, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had met his Chinese counterpart Gen Wei Fenghe in Moscow recently. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi had also met in Moscow a few days ago. Meanwhile, the Union Cabinet and the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs are also likely to meet over video conferencing on Tuesday afternoon, government sources said.
India and China have been engaged in a standoff since April-May over the transgressions by the Chinese Army in multiple areas including the Finger area, Galwan Valley, Hot springs, and Kongrung Nala.
(With agency inputs)
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