India-China Border Tensions Live: Border Not Yet Demarcated, There Will Be Problems, Says China’s Wang
Follow live updates from the latest escalation in tensions between India and China.
Indian Army Thwarts China's Provocative Military Movements: Defence Ministry
India said China violated the previously agreed consensus along the Line of Actual Control in the Himalayas.
The People’s Liberation Army carried out “provocative military movements” late on Saturday night, India’s Defense Ministry said in a statement on Monday.
The latest skirmish between the two sides took place on the southern bank of the Pangong Tso lake, according to the statement.
Here's the full statement:
On the Night of 29/30 August 2020, PLA troops violated the previous consensus arrived at during military and diplomatic engagements during the ongoing standoff in Eastern Ladakh and carried out provocative military movements to change the status quo. Indian troops pre-empted this PLA activity on the Southern Bank of Pangong Tso Lake, undertook measures to strengthen our positions and thwart Chinese intentions to unilaterally change facts on ground. The Indian Army is committed to maintaining peace and tranquility through dialogue, but is also equally determined to protect its territorial integrity. A Brigade Commander level Flag Meeting is in progress at Chushul to resolve the issues.
It is the first major incident involving the troops of the two countries after the Galwan Valley clashes on June 15 in which 20 Indian Army personnel were killed. China also suffered casualties but it is yet to make the details public.
India-China Border Not Yet Demarcated, There Will Always Be Problems: Wang
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that the India-China boundary is yet to be demarcated due to which there will always be problems and the two countries should implement the consensuses between their leadership to not let differences from escalating into conflicts.
He also said that China is ready to manage all issues through dialogue with India.
Wang, who is currently on a tour of Europe, made the remarks during an interaction at the French Institute of International Relations in Paris on Monday.
In response to a question on China's relations with India and Japan, the minister did not directly refer to the latest provocative move by the Chinese military in eastern Ladakh.
His remarks came hours after the Indian Army said it has thwarted a provocative Chinese army movement in eastern Ladakh to "unilaterally" change the status quo on the southern bank of Pangong lake. It is also the first major incident in the area after the Galwan Valley clashes on June 15 in which 20 Indian Army personnel were killed.
"China-India relations have recently attracted the attention of all parties," Wang said.
The boundary between China and India has not yet been demarcated, so there will always be problems of this kind. We are ready to manage all kinds of issues through dialogue with the Indian side, he said.
At the same time, these issues should be placed in their proper place in bilateral relations, he said, adding that President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Narendra Modi met many times and reached many important consensus.
China Denies Its Troops Strayed Into Indian Territory
China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian claimed its border troops always strictly abide by the Line of Actual Control.
“Chinese border troops always strictly abide by the Line of Actual Control. They never cross the line. Border troops on the two sides have been in close communication regarding the issues on the ground,” the spokesperson said at a media briefing in Beijing in response to a question by a Japanese journalist about the fresh incident at Pangong Tso lake.
The Indian army undermined the consensus reached in previous multi-level talks between the two sides and once again illegally crossed the line on the south bank of Pangong Tso, Senior Colonel Zhang Shuili, spokesman for the Western Theater Command of the People’s Liberation Army, said in a statement late Monday evening.
“Such provocation led to tense situations along the border,” Zhang said.
Top Military Brass Briefed
India's top strategic and military leadership, including Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat and the three service chiefs were briefed about the Chinese attempt in detail, PTI reported citing unnamed officials.
No Physical Clash: Government Officials To PTI
Government sources told Press Trust of India that a sizeable number of Chinese troops were moving towards the southern bank of Pangong Tso lake in an attempt to occupy the area but the Indian Army quickly made significant deployment to foil the bid.
The officials said there was no physical clash between the troops of the two sides during China's attempt to open a new front.
The two sides were engaged in a confrontation on the northern bank of Pangong Tso lake but it was for the first time such an incident occurred on the southern bank, they said.
Indian Markets Reverse Course On China Tensions
Indian equity markets erased early gains and traded with sharp cuts after the Defence Ministry's statement on China's violations in Eastern Ladakh.
The S&P BSE Sensex index fell as much as 0.9% to 39,111 -- that's nearly 900 points off the morning's high.
Follow live market updates here.