EAM calls Galwan turning point for 'national sentiment', says 'Bond with China damaged'

Nearly 6 months after the horrific Galwan clash in Ladakh, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said that the relationship with China was 'significantly damaged' sharing how the Communist country was refraining from keeping its side of the agreements post the violence at the LAC. "We are today probably at the most difficult phase of our relationship with China, certainly in the last 30 to 40 years or you could argue even more," said EAM Jaishankar while addressing the Lowy Institute. 

"We are very clear that maintaining peace and tranquillity along the LAC is the basis for the rest of the relationship to progress. You can't have the kind of situation you have on the border and say let's carry on with life in all other sectors of activity. It's just unrealistic," he added. 

Calling out China for breaking the 1993 commitment, Jaishankar remarked that the country's move of ushering in tens of thousands of troops on their side of the border was 'a major breach of understanding' between the two nations. Referring to the months-long build-up Jaishankar said that it was 'natural' that their relationship would be disturbed.

"Now for some reason, for which the Chinese have to date given us five differing explanations, the Chinese have violated it. The Chinese have literally brought tens of thousands of soldiers in full military preparation mode right to the LAC in Ladakh. Naturally the relationship would be profoundly disturbed by this," he said. 

The EAM however called the Galwan clashes, which resulted in the loss of 20 Indian jawans, a big turning point for 'national sentiment', since it was the first time- post the war of 1975- that India had suffered such a colossal casualty at the LAC.

Asserting that 'communication' was not the issue between the two countries, the EAM noted that the key problem was that these agreements were 'not being observed'. "We have multiple layers of communication. Communication is not the issue, the issue is the fact that we have agreements and those agreements are not being observed," Jaishankar noted. 

Read: China's Plan To Threaten India's Territory Backfired: GD Bakshi On Beijing's Galwan Plot

Read: Continuing Chinese Construction Activities Along Indian Border 'provocative Measure': US Lawmaker

LAC faceoff between India and China

The LAC faceoff was exacerbated when 20 Indian Army soldiers including a Commanding Officer were martyred in the Galwan Valley on June 15 when the de-escalation process was underway. This was followed by multiple attempts of provocation by the Chinese side at the end of August.

On August 31, the Indian Army said that the Chinese side carried out provocative military movements to change the status quo. "Indian troops pre-empted this PLA activity on the Southern Bank of Pangong Tso Lake, undertook measures to strengthen our positions and thwart Chinese intentions to unilaterally change facts on the ground," the official statement by the Defence Ministry said.

However, recently the USCC (United States-China Economic and Security Review Commission) in its report to US Congress has stated that the Chinese government had 'planned' the June 15 Galwan Valley clash with India, potentially including the possibility for fatalities.

It also mentions that actions by the Chinese side were hinting towards these deadly clashes, weeks before the violent clashes happened at Galwan. “For instance, several weeks prior to the clash Defense Minister Wei made his statement encouraging Beijing to “use fighting to promote stability," it said. 

Read: Chinese Government Planned Galwan Valley Clashes With India, Key Panel Tells US Congress

Read: 'Indian Army At LAC Have Free Hand To Counter China's PLA With Full Force': Rajnath Singh