China will claim entire Ladakh if GoI fails to stop incursions: Ex-BJP leader

A former BJP leader and an ex-minister from Ladakh on Wednesday warned that China will claim sovereignty over the whole Union Territory, if the government of India fails to take measures to stop neighboring country’s incursions.

Chering Dorjay, who was minister for Cooperatives and Ladakh Affairs in the previous PDP-BJP government in the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, said China's sovereignty claim over Galwan Valley will have a major setback and impact over both the government and the local population.

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“If China agrees to go back to the earlier position it will be good and if it doesn’t then it will be a problem for India. Strategically it will be a huge setback if China claims sovereignty of Galwan Valley and if we lose the territory it will affect the local population as well,” he was quoted by a local news gathering agency as saying.

Highlighting the importance of the Galwan Valley, Dorjay, who quit the BJP in April this year, said if China continues its aggressiveness then there will be a day when it will claim the entire Union Territory of Ladakh and “we can't predict what exactly will happen.”

Asked about the steps initiated by New Delhi on ground level to push China back, he said, “Since the Chinese army started incursion, India has started a build-up now and India is also at a better position than China.”

He said the government is taking measures and only time will tell whether they will succeed in it or not.

Dorjey had quit the BJP in April this year, alleging that the Saffron party leadership was “ignoring concerns” of the people of Ladakh.