NEW DELHI: Defense Minister Rajnath Singh said on Wednesday that India was in dialogue with China to end a six-month military standoff and praised the Indian military for standing firm against any possible intrusion attempts by Chinese forces in the meantime.
“Ongoing talks for the peaceful resolution of the crisis will continue,” while “the troops hold their ground,” Singh told senior Indian army commanders at their biannual commanders conference in New Delhi. comes as New Delhi faces a major military challenge from China in the north and Pakistan in the west, making the often-warned specter of a two-front war a real possibility. The four-day conference that began on Monday will end on Thursday.
The reference was to the tensions between India and China that have been high since May this year after New Delhi detected intrusions by Chinese soldiers in multiple places in Ladakh. The two sides were involved in a violent clash in June in which 20 Indian soldiers and an unknown number of Chinese personnel were killed. Many rounds of talks between the two countries at the military and diplomatic level have not yet yielded any solution to the problem. Currently, New Delhi was awaiting a response from China on a new set of proposed dates for the eighth round of military talks between the two countries, officials said.
In his remarks, the minister said that it was “our national responsibility to ensure the availability of the best weapons, equipment and clothing for our troops who defy extreme weather and hostile forces to defend our territorial integrity.” The reference was to India, which was supplied with winter clothing for high altitudes. , tents and weapons from countries like the United States for troops occupying Indian positions high in the Ladakh mountains. Given that the Chinese forces show no signs of retreating from the positions they had taken along the border of the Royal Line of Control, India was clear that its troops would not abandon any vantage point they had, particularly around Pangong Tso Lake in eastern Ladakh.
Singh also praised the Border Roads Organization (BRO) for meeting connectivity goals in remote areas “so that our citizens who live in those places are connected and facilitate faster development.”
Referring to the situation along the border with Pakistan, Singh “commended the response of the Indian army to cross-border terrorism and ceasefire violations,” said a statement from the Indian army.
“I congratulate the excellent synergy between CAPF (Central Armed Police Force) / police forces and the Army in dealing with the threat of terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir. It is because of synergistic operations in the Valley that the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir is moving towards a stable and peaceful environment conducive to growth and development in general, “he said.
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