China reacts to Def Min Rajnath Singh's LS speech, cries 'disengage to ease tensions'

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh calling out China's aggressive posture along  Line of Actual Control (LAC) and breach of order agreements and reaffirming support to Indian armed forces has rattled Beijing.

In its first response to Singh's remarks, Chinese government mouthpiece Global Times quoted its Foreign Ministry as saying: "It is imperative that India immediately corrects its wrong practices, disengs on ground as soon as possible, and takes concrete actions to ease tensions along China-India border."

tably, it is well kwn that China, though its PLA, has engd in actions that have heated up tensions through repeated attempts to change status quo in eastern Lakh since May.

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Rajnath Singh's statement on LAC faceoff

Making a statement on LAC situation in Lok Sabha on Tuesday, Rajnath Singh affirmed that Indian Armed Forces were capable of facing any challenge from China. While ackwledging that situation at LAC is very different both in terms of scale of troops involve and number of friction points, he reiterated India's commitment for a peaceful resolution of dispute. Observing that violent conduct of Chinese troops was a violation of all past agreements, he informed MPs that India has done counter deployments in area to safeguard border. Singh conceded that LAC boundary issue remains unresolved due to reluctance of China to recognise tritional and customary alignment of border.

Moreover, he ded that China is in illegal occupation of 38,000 sq. km in Lakh apart from 5,180 sq. km of Indian territory in PoK ceded by Pakistan in 1963. Ackwledging that this is a complex issue, he highlighted that peace and tranquillity in border areas is imperative for development of bilateral relationship. He explained that both sides continued to have a differing perception about LAC over last many deces.  LAC faceoff was exacerbated when 20 Indian Army soldiers including a Commanding Officer were martyred in Galwan Valley on June 15, followed by multiple attempts of provocation by Chinese side at end of August.

Rajnath Singh strongly asserted India’s position that while bilateral relations can continue to develop in parallel with discussions on resolving boundary question, "any serious disturbance in peace and tranquility along LAC in border areas is bound to have implications for positive direction of our ties."

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