Press Trust of India

India ups the ante as Armed forces raise alert level

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China claims sovereignty over Galwan Valley

New Delhi/ Beijing: Front-line bases of the Indian army and the air force along the nearly 3,500 km de-facto border with China were Wednesday put on high alert in view of the worst border clash between Indian and Chinese troops in Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh that left 20 Army personnel dead, official sources said.
The Indian Navy has also been asked to raise its alert level in the Indian Ocean Region where Chinese Navy has been making regular forays.
The decision to raise the alert level of the three forces were taken at a high-level meeting Defence Minister Rajnath Singh held with Chief of Defence Staff Gen Bipin Rawat and the three service chiefs, sources said.
The Army has already rushed in additional troops to all its key front-line bases and formations along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Arunachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Ladakh, they said.
The Indian Air Force has already raised the alert level in all its front-line bases tasked to keep an eye on the LAC, the de-facto border.
The sources said the Navy is increasing its deployment in the Indian Ocean Region to send across a strong message to the Chinese Navy. (PTI)
Meanwhile, China claimed that the sovereignty over the Galwan Valley area in Ladakh “always belonged to it” but underlined that Beijing does not wish to see “more clashes,” after the militaries of the two countries were engaged in the biggest confrontation in over five decades.
At a briefing at the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Spokesman Zhao Lijian said the “sovereignty of the Galwan Valley area has always belonged to China,” echoing a statement of the Chinese military on Tuesday, opening up another dispute.
When asked since Galwan is regarded as settled border and why China is claiming sovereignty over the area now, Zhao said,” regarding the mater of the Galwan area we are having communication through military and diplomatic channels. Right and wrong of this is very clear. This happened at the Chinese side of the border and China is not to be blamed for it.”
He also refused to comment on reports of 43 casualties on the Chinese side during the face-off with the Indian Army in the Galwan Valley on Monday night.
“The border troops are dealing with relevant matter,” he said.
When pointed out that the India has released the number of casualties and why Beijing was not providing the number for Chinese side, he said, “I have stated that Chinese and Indian border troops are now jointly dealing with the relevant matter on the ground. I have nothing to add at the moment.”
“On the situation at the China-India border both sides are having close communication with each other to resolve this through diplomatic and military channels, Zhao said.
“The overall border situation is stable and controllable,” he told correspondents to a volley of questions.
Responding to a question whether further clashes could be averted, the spokesman said, “from the Chinese side we do not wish to see more clashes.”
“I believe you have noticed that China and India have both said that we are committed to resolve the differences through dialogue safeguarding peace and tranquillity in the border area. (PTI)


Press Trust of India

Press Trust of India is lead news agency of India

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