Published 16:02 IST, June 17th 2020
LAC faceoff: PM Modi warns China, says 'India capable of befitting reply if instigated'
PM Narendra Modi, gave a stern warning to China, saying that while India wished to maintain peace, it will not stay quiet if provoked, before PM-CM conference
Before addressing 15 state Chief Ministers on current COVID-19 crisis, PM Narendra Modi, gave a stern warning to China, saying that while India wished to maintain peace, it will not stay quiet if provoked. He added that the nation must be proud to know that its 20 Army martyrs who died in Galwan Valley, died fighting till the end. He also requested the attending CMs and Union ministers to maintain two minutes of silence for the slain warriors.
PM Modi: 'India won't stay quiet'
"India wants peace, but if India is provoked, it is capable of giving a befitting reply. With respect to our Indian martyrs, the nation will be proud to know that they died fighting. I want to assure the nation that its martyrs' sacrifice will not go in vain. India will always protect its sovereignty and no one should be under any illusion," he said.
Army releases martyrs list
Earlier in the day, the Indian Army released the list of the martyrs who lost their lives on June 15-16. While Colonel Santosh Babu and two other soldiers were killed in action at the Line of Actual Control, the other 17 injured soldiers succumbed to their injures in the sub-freezing temperatures of Ladakh. Both India and China are currently engaging in diplomatic and Army-level talks regarding the situation, while PM Modi has called an all-party meet on June 19 at 5 PM to discuss the situation at India-China border areas.
What happened in Galwan?
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 US intelligence reports, the Chinese side has suffered 35 casualties including a Commanding officer, during the physical clash. Sources revealed that an Indian colonel was attacked by Chinese Army personnel with iron rods without any provocation leading to a strong retaliation from the Indian side. This physical hand-to-hand combat went on for many hours on Monday, sources revealed. On Tuesday morning, senior commanders took stock of the situation and the talks started at about 7 am.
India's COVID battle
As India's recovery rate increases, it saw the highest single-day spike of 2,003 COVID-19 deaths, pushing toll to 11,903 and the total cases soared to 3,54,065 with 10,974 new infections on Tuesday. India has overtaken United Kingdom in number of Coronavirus (COVID-19) cases, currently being the fourth-worst hit nation after USA, Brazil and Russia. India is also currently in 'Unlock 1' with its lockdown only extended to containment zones.
Updated 16:02 IST, June 17th 2020