India continues tough talk, tells China to stay within its LAC limits

New Delhi

India is strongly committed to ensuring the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity though it is committed to find resolution of the differences through dialogue, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said at a media briefing. “Given its responsible approach to border management, India is very clear that all its activities are always within the Indian side of the LAC. We expect the Chinese side to also confine it’s activities to it’s side of the LAC,” Srivastava said.

The Chinese military on Thursday reiterated that Galwan Valley has always been part of China. Meanwhile, Indian and Chinese militaries held Major General-level dialogue on Thursday for the third consecutive day on disengagement of troops as well as to restore normalcy in Galwan Valley after the deadly Monday night clashes. In the dialogue at Patrol Point 14, both sides discussed ways to implement the disengagement of troops from the region as agreed to during a high-level military dialogue on June 6, sources said, adding there was not much progress in the talks. When asked about reports that China was trying to block the flow of the Galwan river near the site of the dispute, sources said the neighbouring country is carrying out activities on their side of the de-facto border.

No personnel missing since Galwan violence: Army
The Indian Army on Thursday trashed media reports claiming that a number of its soldiers went missing after the violent clashes with Chinese troops at Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh three days back. “It is clarified that there are no Indian troops missing in action,” the Army said in a statement. There have been reports that several Indian Army soldiers were held captive by the Chinese Army following the Galwan Valley clashes. At a media briefing, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava also said that no Indian soldiers were missing since the clashes on Monday three days back.

Rlys scraps contract with China
The Railways has decided to terminate the contract of a Chinese company due to “poor progress” on the signalling and telecommunication work on the Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor’s 417-km section between Kanpur and Mughalsarai.

The Railways had given the contract worth Rs 471 crore to Beijing National Railway Research and Design Institute of Signal and Communication Group in 2016. Traders’ body CAIT appealed to celebrities, including Bollywood actors, to stop endorsing products of Chinese brands as a mark of respect for the Indian soldiers.

The government is also working on steps to reduce import dependence on China and boost domestic manufacturing, sources said on Thursday. China accounts for about 14 per cent of India’s imports and is a major supplier for sectors like cell phones, telecom, power, plastic toys and critical pharma ingredients. Policymakers are also looking at non-tariff barriers being imposed by India’s trading partners such as China.