India is ‘’very serious about issues of sovereignty and territorial integrity” and the country is ready for “all contingencies” to ensure that it is maintained, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh told Parliament on Tuesday.
He warned that any serious situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh is bound to impact the bilateral relations between India and China.
Speaking in the Lok Sabha, he said that during a meeting with his Chinese counterpart, he had conveyed to China that India wants to resolve this issue in a peaceful manner and “want the Chinese side to work with us”. But “there should also be no doubt about our determination to protect India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” he said.
In his statement, Singh had said the border issue with China remains unresolved as China, historically, “does not recognise the current boundary”.
“China continues to be in illegal occupation of approximately 38,000 sq kms in Ladakh. In addition, under the so-called Sino-Pakistan ‘Boundary Agreement’ of 1963, Pakistan illegally ceded 5,180 sq km of Indian territory in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir to China,” the defence minister told the Lok Sabha.
He further said that the Chinese military had started increasing its presence in the region since April and was creating obstructions in the Indian forces’ patrolling.
China’s People’ Liberation Army (PLA) made attempts to transgress LAC in May, their attempts were spotted and foiled in time by the Indian army, he said, adding that during the Galwan clash on June 15 in which 20 soldiers sacrificed their lives, the army inflicted heavy casualties on Chinese forces.
Singh said that violent conduct of Chinese troops is a violation of all past agreements and our troops have done counter deployments in the area to safeguard borders.
“India and China border issue remain unresolved. Till now, there has been no mutually acceptable solution. China disagrees on the border (issue). China does not recognise the traditional and customary alignment of the boundary. We consider that this alignment is based on well established geographical principles,” Singh said.
“Both India and China agree that to maintain peace and tranquillity in the India-China border areas, it is essential for the further development of bilateral relations,” he added.
The Defence Minister said that India has told China through diplomatic channels that the “attempts to unilaterally alter the status quo were in violation of the bilateral agreements”. The two countries have been engaged in a standoff position since April-May timeframe and the Chinese have refused to vacate areas in the Finger area and other friction points in the Eastern Ladakh area.
