NEW DELHI: Accusing China of amassing troops and armaments along the Line of Actual Control since early May, resulting in the June 15 clash and heightened tension, India on Thursday said the Chinese conduct this year has been in complete disregard to all mutually agreed norms and pacts.
“While there have been occasional departures in the past, the conduct of Chinese forces this year has been in complete disregard of all mutually agreed norms,” External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said.
India again charged China with trying to alter the status quo even as New Delhi dismissed Beijing’s claims of sovereignty over the Galwan Valley as “unjustified and untenable” and said this was a shift from its earlier position.
“The deployment of a large body of troops and changes in behaviour has also been aggravated by unjustified and untenable claims. The recent shift in the Chinese position on the Galwan Valley is one example,” Srivastava said.
India’s strong statement came as the Army maintained that disengagement on the ground was yet to begin. “The local commanders-level meeting has not taken place yet, so details have not been worked out. It will take some time for division commanders, sector commanders and battalion commanders to work out a mutual plan,” a senior Army officer said.
India’s firm stand on the Galwan Valley and transgressions by the Chinese are being seen as an attempt to drive home the message that was delivered at the Corps Commander-level talks on June 22 that the rules of engagement were no longer the same.
The Indian side, sources said, made it clear at the meeting that its troops had been given a free hand to deal with situations as they deemed fit, which has been interpreted as a freedom to use arms if necessary.
“India’s statement is a continuation of its position conveyed to the Chinese on the June 22 Corps Commander-level meeting. Except initial intelligence failure in checking the Chinese deployment and ingress, India has demonstrated that it will not let the Chinese strategy of two step forward, one step back succeed.
I hope the statement emanates from the ground realities rather than from a strong anti-China wave that has engulfed the country,” said B R Deepak, chairperson of the Centre for Chinese and South Asian studies at JNU.A former diplomat echoed him. “Though ground reports suggest that de-escalation has not begun, India wants to show the Chinese that it will not be bogged down. Also, it is a befitting reply to the claims made by the Chinese over the Galwan Valley area.”
‘Onus on Delhi’
Chinese Ambassador Sun Weidong put the onus on India to ease the border tension. “We hope the Indian side meets the Chinese side halfway, avoids taking actions that may complicate the border situation and takes concrete actions to maintain stability in the border areas,” he said