Govt dismisses China’s Galwan Valley claim, says bid to alter LAC foiled

India on Saturday gave a strongly worded statement to counter Chinese claims to the Galwan Valley and rejected Beijing’s version of the events of June 15.

The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) sought to dispel a “mischievous interpretation” of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s remarks made at Friday evening’s all-party meeting. The comments had led to conjectures whether India had surrendered its territorial claims over the valley.

Eighteen hours after his remarks led to questions whether India had surrendered its claims to the Galwan Valley, the PMO on Saturday afternoon said the prime minister clearly said at the all-party meeting that Indian soldiers lost their lives in foiling the Chinese attempt to alter the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

On Friday evening, the government statement issued after the meeting and the series of tweets by the PMO’s twitter handle in Hindi had quoted the PM to have said that neither were the Chinese troops in India’s territory in Ladakh, nor had they captured any Indian posts.

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According to the clarification, the PM had informed the meeting “that this time Chinese forces have come in much larger strength to the LAC and that the Indian response is commensurate”.

“As regards transgression of LAC, it was clearly stated that the violence in Galwan on June 15 arose because (the) Chinese side was seeking to erect structures just across the LAC and refused to desist from such actions,” the clarification stated.

Hours after the PM’s remarks at the all-party meeting, the Chinese foreign ministry late Friday night issued a “step by step account of the Galwan Valley incident”. It claimed the Galwan Valley to be on its side of the LAC, and blamed the June 15 violence on the Indian troops for attempting to alter it.

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By Saturday evening, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) contradicted the Chinese foreign ministry’s claims.

The MEA termed the Chinese claims about the status of the LAC in the valley “exaggerated and untenable”. It said the claims contradicted China’s own position in the past, adding the Indian troops had never done anything across the LAC.

The MEA said the Chinese troops had attempted to change the LAC and created disturbances in the valley and other areas of the sector since May, and on June 15 sought to erect structures there.

The PMO accused political rivals of “attempts” at “giving a mischievous interpretation” to the PM’s remarks at the meeting.

The PMO said Modi said the “sacrifices of the soldiers of the 16 Bihar Regiment foiled the attempt of the Chinese side to erect structures and also cleared the attempted transgression at this point of the Line of Actual Control (LAC)” on June 15.

It said the PM had conveyed at the meeting that “that there was no Chinese presence on our side of the LAC”.

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“The sacrifices of the soldiers of the 16 Bihar Regiment foiled the attempt of the Chinese side to erect structures and also cleared the attempted transgression at this point of the LAC on that day,” the PMO clarification stated.

The PMO’s clarification came hours after senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Saturday said the PM’s remarks had left “everyone baffled and bewildered”.

Quoting the PM’s remarks, Chidambaram pointed out how he contradicted the earlier statements made by the chief of army staff, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.

Chidambaram asked a series of questions to seek clarity on the events since the “face-off” between Indian and Chinese troops on May 5-6.

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“If no Chinese troops were inside Indian territory, where did the clashes take place on June 15-16? Where were 20 Indian soldiers killed and 85 injured?” he asked.

After the PMO’s clarification, the Congress asked the government to strongly rebut the Chinese claims on the Galwan Valley. It also asked why the government was silent on intrusions in the Pangong Tso area.

“Security experts, army generals and satellite imagery have confirmed not only one intrusion on June 15 but several in the Ladakh area,” Congress Spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said.

Surjewala said the PMO statement had explained the events of June 15, but there was no word from it about the intrusions between May 5 and June 15. He pointed out the government had repeatedly demanded the “restoration of status quo ante”, which would suggest either intrusions or occupying Indian territory.

“We also refer to the statement of the MEA dated June 7 that both sides agreed to ‘resolve the situation in the border areas’ and called for an ‘early resolution’. If there was no other intrusion into Indian territory, how were the Chinese present ‘in large numbers’ or why was restoration of ‘status quo ante’ being demanded or ‘disengagement’ and ‘early resolution’ being sought?” Surjewala asked.

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The June 17 statement said “the Chinese side sought to erect a structure in the Galwan Valley on our side of the LAC.”

If Chinese troops were not present in Indian territory, why was the MEA harping on disengagement and de-escalation as late as on June 17, Surjewala asked.

“Our information is that no such disengagement has been completed by the Chinese and, in view of their illegal claim to the whole of the Galwan Valley, the onus lies on the government to protect our territorial integrity.”

The Congress asked the PM “to follow Raj Dharma” to protect India’s security and territorial integrity.

The PMO clarification stressed how the PM at the meeting emphasised that in contrast to the past neglect of challenges at the LAC, “Indian forces now decisively counter any violations of LAC (‘unhe rokte hain, unhe tokte hain’)”.

On Chinese occupying the LAC, the PMO said the all-party meeting was told in great detail how over the past 60 years, more than 43,000 square km had been yielded under circumstances with which this country was well aware. “It was also made clear that this Government will not allow any unilateral change of the LAC,” it said.