India hits out at China over Ladakh standoff

* Rajnath Singh briefs PM over standoff

* China justifies the censorship about its casualties

* Centre: China tried to unilaterally change status quo

NEW DELHI: India on Tuesday hit out at China for unilaterally attempting to change the status quo along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Eastern Ladakh, which led to the killings of troops of both the countries in a violent clash on Monday night.

Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday briefed Prime Minister Narendra Modi about the prevailing situation in Eastern Ladakh where Indian Army faced 20 casualties during a violent face-off with the People's Liberation Army of China.

Sources said that the death toll is likely to go up as many soldiers have been brutally injured.

Sources said that the death toll is likely to go up as many soldiers have been brutally injured.

Indian Army issued a statement on Tuesday night wherein it said, "17 Indian troops who were critically injured in the line of duty at the standoff location and exposed to sub-zero temperatures in the high altitude terrain have succumbed to their injuries, taking the total that were killed in action to 20."

The force further stated that Indian and Chinese troops have disengaged in the Galwan area where they had earlier "clashed on the night of June 15 and June 16, 2020."

The force further stated that Indian Army is firmly committed to protect the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the nation.

Meanwhile, an alert has been issued in Himachal Pradesh's Kinnaur and Lahaul-Spiti districts, adjoining Tibet, to take all precautionary measures to ensure security, the State government said on Tuesday.

The official spokesperson of Ministry of External Affairs, Anurag Srivastava said that on Monday late-evening, a violent face-off erupted between the two sides because of "an attempt by the Chinese side to unilaterally change the status quo" in the Galwan Valley in Ladakh.

"Both sides suffered casualties that could have been avoided had the agreement at the higher level been scrupulously followed by the Chinese side," Srivastava said.

He was responding to media queries on the situation in the western sector of the India-China border. India and China, the spokesperson said, have been discussing through military and diplomatic channels the de-escalation of the situation in Eastern Ladakh.

Senior Commanders had a productive meeting on June 6 and agreed on a process for such de-escalation. Subsequently, ground commanders had a series of meetings to implement the consensus reached at the higher level.

"While it was our expectation that this would unfold smoothly, the Chinese side departed from the consensus to respect the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Galwan Valley," the government spokesperson said.

India, he said, is known for its responsible approach to border management and has been very clear that all its activities are always within the Indian side of the LAC. "We expect the same from the Chinese side," he said.

The government, he said, remains firmly convinced of the need for the maintenance of peace and tranquillity in the border areas and the resolution of differences through dialogue. At the same time, the government is also "strongly committed to ensuring India's sovereignty and territorial integrity," he said.

Three Indian Army men, including an officer, were killed on Monday night during a violent face-off with Chinese People's Liberation Army troops in Galwan Valley. An Indian Army Colonel, the Commanding Officer of an infantry battalion, and two soldiers were killed in the clash at one of the stand-off points in the Galwan Valley.

Meanwhile, China justified the censorship about the casualties of its troops suffered in a violent clash with Indian soldiers along the Line of Actual Control in Galwan Valley in Eastern Ladakh on Monday night, arguing that it was a goodwill gesture from Beijing.

An unspecified number of Chinese troops were killed on Monday night in clashes with Indian soldiers along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Eastern Ladakh where both sides have been locked in a face-off since May.

While India officially announced that three of its soldiers, including an officer, were killed, China has remained tight-lipped about its casualties.

However, the Global Times, published by the People's Daily, the official newspaper of the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP), admitted that People's Liberation Army (PLA) troops had also been killed.

Justifying China's silence over the number of its casualties, Hu Xijn, editor of the Global Times, tweeted, "Chinese side didn't release number of PLA casualties in clash with Indian soldiers. My understanding is the Chinese side doesn't want people of the two countries to compare the casualties number so to avoid stoking public mood. This is goodwill from Beijing."

Earlier, Hu had tweeted, "Based on what I know, Chinese side also suffered casualties in the Galwan Valley physical clash."

However, he went on to warn India, saying, "I want to tell the Indian side, don't be arrogant and misread China's restraint as being weak. China doesn't want to have a clash with India, but we don't fear it."

RAJNATH SINGH BRIEFS PM: Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday briefed Prime Minister Narendra Modi about the prevailing situation in Eastern Ladakh where Indian Army faced multiple casualties during a violent face-off with the People's Liberation Army of China. The Chinese Army too faced casualties though the exact figures are yet to be ascertained.

Singh met Modi after he held a meeting with External Affairs Minister, S. Jaishankar, Chief of Defence Staff, General Bipin Rawat, and the three service chiefs in the South Block here to review the current situation following the violent stand-off in the Galwan Valley amid the de-escalation operation.

These are the first casualties faced by the Indian Army in clash with the People's Liberation Army since 1975, when an Indian patrol was ambushed by Chinese troops in Arunachal Pradesh.

Singh has asked the service chiefs to explain the current situation in the Galwan Valley in Eastern Ladakh and also what course of action should be taken from hereafter diplomatically.

Indian Army Chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane was to visit Kashmir on Tuesday morning but following the developments on Monday night at Line of Actual Control, it was cancelled.

Sources in Indian Army stated: "The Defence Minister reviewed the current operational situation in Eastern Ladakh, consequent to Monday's violent face-off on the Line of Actual Control along with the Chief of Defence Staff and the three service chiefs. The External Affairs Minister was also present during the meeting."

Three Indian Army men, including an officer, were killed on Monday night during a violent face-off with Chinese People's Liberation Army troops in Galwan Valley in Eastern Ladakh.

An Indian Army Colonel, the Commanding Officer of an infantry battalion, and two soldiers were killed, the Indian Army said, pointing out that no shots were fired during the violent clash.

Indian Army in a fresh statement also said that during the de-escalation process presently underway in the Galwan Valley, the violent face-off took place on Monday night with "casualties on both sides".

Senior military officials of the two sides are currently meeting to defuse the situation. A Major General level meeting between the two sides is going on after China requested to hold the meeting early in the morning.

On Monday, Brigade Commander and company-level talks happened in Eastern Ladakh between India and China. The talks were happening near patrolling point 14 near the mouth of Galwan Valley and patrolling point 17 at the Hot Spring Area. (IANS)

Also watch: Evening Bulletin | 16th June, 2020