Committed to resolve current situation on India-China border through peaceful negotiations: MEA
Sep 10, 2020
New Delhi [India], September 10 : India and China are in touch with each other through military and diplomatic channels to resolve the ongoing situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), Ministry of External Affairs said on Thursday.
"Both India and China are in regular touch through military and diplomatic channels to resolve the situation. This was also the consensus when the two Defence Ministers met," MEA spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said during virtual weekly briefing.
"As we have reiterated several times in the past, Indian side is committed to resolving the current situation on India-China border through peaceful negotiations," he said.
Chinese soldiers fired in the air while attempting to close in on Indian positions across the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh on Monday night, the Indian Army said on Tuesday adding that Chinese troops have been "blatantly violating agreements and carrying out aggressive manoeuvres."
In a statement, the Army said on Tuesday that the Chinese troops were "attempting to close-in with one of our forward positions along the LAC and when dissuaded by own troops, People's Liberation Army (PLA) soldiers fired a few rounds in the air in an attempt to intimidate."
India recently outflanked China by taking control of strategic height 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.
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. The situation worsened after 20 Indian soldiers were killed in violent clashes with Chinese troops in Galwan Valley in June.
Last Friday, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh told his Chinese counterpart General Wei Fenghe on the sidelines of the SCO dialogue in Moscow that attempts by Chinese troops to unilaterally alter the status quo along the LAC was in violation of the bilateral agreements, and Beijing should work with New Delhi for complete disengagement from all friction areas including Pangong Tso.
