NEW DELHI / BEIJING (Reuters) – Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi traveled to the northern border region on Friday, where Indian and Chinese troops are locked in a clash, saying the army was ready to defend its country.
His comments prompted Beijing to call for restraint in the tense border area in the northern Himalayan region of Ladakh.
Modi, on his first trip to the Ladakh region since the Indian army lost 20 soldiers in a clash with Chinese soldiers last month, said his country’s commitment to peace should not be seen as a sign of weakness.
“Today India is getting stronger, whether in naval power, air power, space power and the strength of our army. Modernizing weapons and improving infrastructure has enhanced our multiple defense capabilities, “he said in a speech to soldiers near Leh, the regional capital.
India says Chinese troops have meddled through the Current Control Line, or the cease-fire line that separates the two armies in the Ladakh region at high altitude, and the clash on June 15 occurred because Chinese troops attempted to erect defenses on India’s de facto border side. .
China says that the entire Galwan Valley where the clash occurred is its territory and that it was the frontline Indian troops that broke the border, which is not demarcated.
China’s Foreign Ministry said on Friday that the two countries were in talks to reduce tensions.
Spokesman Zhao Lijian, responding to a question about Modi’s visit to the border region, said the two sides were in communication through diplomatic and military channels to alleviate the situation.
“In these circumstances, neither party should take measures that could complicate the border situation,” he said at a daily press conference in Beijing.
The gravest crisis on the India-China border in years has erupted as Beijing is embroiled in disputes over the South China Sea, Taiwan, and its control over Hong Kong, which have fueled fears of an expansionist policy.
Modi referred to expansionism in his speech to the soldiers, saying that it caused problems.
“(The) Prime Minister said that the time for expansionism has ended. This is the era of development, ”Modi quoted the Indian government in a press release. “He recalled that it is this mindset of expansionism that did a lot of damage.”
In a separate development, India’s energy ministry stipulated that Indian companies will need government permission to import China’s energy supply equipment and components, amid mounting military tensions between the two countries.
Additional reports from Devjyot Ghoshal, CKNayak and Fayaz Bukhari in Srinagar; Edition of Sanjeev Miglani, Robert Birsel, Susan Fenton
.
