India said on Tuesday that China has made three attempts to change the status quo along the Royal Line of Control (LAC) in as many days, while firmly rejecting Beijing’s efforts to blame New Delhi for rising tensions. during the weekend.
Indian Foreign Ministry spokesman Anurag Srivastava said China “participated in provocative military maneuvers on the night of August 29 and 30 in an attempt to change the status quo in the South Bank area of Pangong Lake.” .
“(The Indian Army) responded to these provocative actions and took appropriate defensive measures throughout LAC to safeguard our interests and defend territorial integrity,” he added.
Furthermore, on August 31, even as the ground commanders of the two sides were in talks to reduce the situation, Chinese troops again took provocative actions. Due to the timely defensive action, the Indian side was able to prevent these attempts to unilaterally alter the status quo. “
India has addressed the issue of “recent provocative and aggressive actions” with Beijing through diplomatic and military channels, Srivastava said, adding that India has also “urged them to discipline and control their front-line troops not to undertake such. provocative actions “.
China’s actions since May throughout LAC have been “a clear violation of the bilateral agreements and protocols concluded between the two countries to guarantee peace and tranquility at the border.”
“Such actions are also totally alien to the understandings reached between the two foreign ministers and also the special representatives,” he said, referring to the telephone conversations in June and July.
India, he said, was “firmly committed to solving all outstanding problems throughout LAC in the western sector through peaceful dialogue.” “In this context, we hope that the Chinese side sincerely respects the understanding reached earlier and works seriously with India to resolve the situation and restore peace in the border areas.”
Events show that New Delhi is willing to change the rules of engagement along the border with China, with the Indian army rejecting Chinese troops seeking to open a new front along LAC in Ladakh, in addition to strengthening their positions along strategic heights in the area. .
The measures, considered defensive by the Indian army but considered provocative by China, “increase the chances of conflict between the two countries,” said Srikanth Kondapalli, a professor of Chinese studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University. It is also because the Indian army has taken up positions along the dominant peaks on the Indian side of LAC, but not far from the Chinese outposts, increasing the chances of a localized conflict, Kondapalli added.
On Tuesday, brigade commanders from the Indian Army and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army gathered in Chushul, on the Indian side of LAC, to defuse tensions after Chinese troops attempted to invade Indian territory on the south bank. from Pangong Tso Lake in Ladakh. In New Delhi, rising tensions, the most serious incident after the violent clash between Indian and Chinese soldiers in the Galwan Valley on June 15, was discussed at a meeting held by Defense Minister Rajnath Singh, the advisor to national security Ajit Doval and the chief of defense. Bipin Rawat staff, in addition to the three heads of service.
Indian army officials said that the southern bank of Pangong Tso has always been controlled by India with a significant troop presence, unlike the Finger area on the north bank, raising suspicions that China was trying to open a new front with the goal of changing the state. quo on the ground.
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