Published 16:00 IST, June 16th 2020
Adhir Chowdhury condemns Chinese aggression at LAC, pays homage to Indian Army martyrs
Reacting to the martyrdom of three Indian Army personnel at the LAC, Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury slammed China for its "unscrupulous aggression".
Reacting to the martyrdom of three Indian Army personnel at the Line of Actual Control, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Tuesday slammed China for its "unscrupulous aggression". He asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to give a befitting reply to the Chinese Army. The Congress leader paid homage to the Army personnel who laid down their lives to protect the country.
Three Indian Army personnel martyred
Three Indian Army soldiers including a Commanding Officer were martyred when a violent faceoff took place on Monday night when the de-escalation process was underway in the Galwan Valley. As per the Editor-in-Chief of Chinese newspaper Global Times, the Chinese side also suffered casualties during the physical clash. As per sources, no firing took place. Senior military officials of the two nations are currently meeting to defuse the tension. Meanwhile, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh held a meeting with the Chief of the Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, the three service chiefs and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. Later, Singh briefed Prime Minister Narendra Modi about the latest development.
Speaking at a press briefing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian claimed that Indian troops had crossed the border twice for "illegal activities" and launched provocative attacks against Chinese personnel. According to him, this led to "serious physical conflicts" between the Army personnel from both nations. Mentioning that a strong protest and solemn representation had been made to the Indian side, he urged India to strictly restrain its frontline troops as per the consensus and not make any consensus that could complicate the border situation. He added that both countries have agreed to resolve bilateral issues through talks.
India-China faceoff
Chinese military helicopters were spotted close to the border between India and China in eastern Ladakh after a clash between soldiers from both sides took place on two occasions. Thereafter, a fleet of Su-30 fighters of the Indian Air Force carried out sorties in the area. According to reports, Indian and Chinese Army personnel clashed along the northern bank of the Pangong Lake in Ladakh on May 5. Four days later, a face-off between the two sides was witnessed near Naku La Pass in Sikkim.
India and China have held more than a dozen round of talks to resolve the impasse. This includes the meeting between Lieutenant General Harinder Singh, the Commander of 14 Corps and Major General Liu Lin, who is the commander of South Xinjiang Military Region of China's People's Liberation Army on June 6. Additionally, Major General-level talks took place on June 10.
Updated 16:00 IST, June 16th 2020