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 the 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, disengages on the ground as soon as possible, and takes concrete actions to ease the tensions along the China-India border."

Notably, it is well known that China, though its PLA, has engaged in actions that have heated up tensions through repeated attempts to change the status quo in eastern Ladakh since May.

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Rajnath Singh's statement on LAC faceoff

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

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

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

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