Owaisi seeks Chinese withdrawal from "occupied territory", claims India took Russia's help

Ahead of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh's meeting with his Chinese counterpart, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Friday claimed that the former had shown "weakness". He dared Singh to ask Chinese Defence Minister Wei Fenghe to unconditionally withdraw from the territory it has allegedly occupied. In another jibe, Owaisi questioned the Defence Minister on whether he would stick to PM Modi's assertion in the all-party meeting that China had not crossed the Line of Actual Control.

Observing that it is India's stated position to resolve all issues bilaterally, the AIMIM president lamented that Russian assistance had been purportedly sought. According to him, it would have been prudent to talk to China as a "victor" instead of a position of defeat. He reiterated that the Centre had allowed China to occupy Indian territory. 

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The LAC faceoff

20 Indian Army soldiers including a Commanding Officer were martyred when a violent faceoff took place on June 15 when the de-escalation process was underway in the Galwan Valley. In the standoff period, multiple rounds of Corps Commander-level meetings and WMCC talks have been held between India and China. During the July 5 conversation between the Special Representatives National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, it was agreed that early and total disengagement along with de-escalation from the border areas should take place as per the bilateral agreements. India has consistently highlighted the need to restore the status quo ante.

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China provokes again

On the intervening night of August 29 and 30, the People's Liberation Army carried out provocative military movement to change the status quo. The Chinese troops violated the consensus arrived at during military and diplomatic talks over the LAC standoff. The Indian troops not only pre-empted the activity of the PLA on the southern bank of the Pangong Tso lake but also thwarted attempts to unilaterally change the facts on the ground. Subsequently, the Ministry of External Affairs revealed that China once again engaged in provocative action on August 31 even as the ground commanders of the two nations were trying to deescalate the situation. However, the Indian Army yet again foiled this nefarious attempt. So far, the military talks between the two countries at Chushal have remained inconclusive. 

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