‘Have No Doubt…’: India Warns China Against ‘Aggressive Behaviour’ in First Political Meet After Border Flare-Up

“Defence minister Rajnath Singh advised the Chinese side to work with the Indian side for complete disengagement at the earliest from all friction areas including Pangong Lake as well as de-escalation in border areas, a statement from the defence ministry said.”

India has categorically conveyed to China that there should be no doubt about its determination to protect its sovereignty and territorial integrity, the defence ministry said in a statement on Saturday, summing up the Moscow meeting between Rajnath Singh and his Chinese counterpart the day before.

Singh met Chinese defence minister General Wei Fenghe on Friday in the first political contact between the two sides since tensions flared up along the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh in May and then again last month. The meeting, on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) defence ministers’ meeting, continued for more than 2 hours.

“Hon’ble Raksha Mantri categorically conveyed India’s position on the developments along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) including in the Galwan valley in the Western Sector of the India-China Border Areas in the last few months. He emphasised that the actions of the Chinese troops, including amassing of large number of troops, their aggressive behaviour and attempts to unilaterally alter the status quo were in violation of the bilateral agreements and not in keeping with the understandings reached between the Special Representatives of two sides,” the statement said.

“Hon’ble RM stated clearly that while the Indian troops had always taken a very responsible approach towards border management, but at the same time there should also be no doubt about our determination to protect India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” it added.

An official privy to the meeting said, “It seemed the Chinese don’t want an escalation. They asked for the meeting… they came to the RM’s (defence minister’s) hotel. The discussion was very frank.”