JOIN USIndia-China border tensions: No power in the world can touch even an inch of India's land, says Rajnath Singh
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday said even though discussions were going on between India and China to resolve the ongoing crisis at eastern Ladakh, he could not put a timeline on when the talks would culminate and what would be its outcome.
“Talks are underway to resolve the standoff in eastern Ladakh. To what extent it will be resolved I can't guarantee. But it's best if the problems are sorted out through the talks,” Singh said addressing the troops at a place near Leh
The site where the Defence Minister spoke to the soldiers is Lukung on the west bank of the Pangong Tso. Jointly held by the Indian Army and Indo Tibetan Border Police, the post is 43 km away from the Finger 4, the flashpoint on the northern bank of the lake
"I can assure you that India is not a weak country. No power in the world can touch even an inch of India's land," the minister asserted, countering the critics who claim that by its aggressive action China forced a change in the perception of the Line of Actual Control – the disputed boundary between the two countries.
However, Singh's speech, sources said, was a tacit admission of a roadblock in the negotiation process on the withdrawal of troops from all the friction points in eastern Ladakh. It comes a day after the Army says the disengagement mechanism is an “intricate one that requires constant verifications” while the Ministry of External Affairs termed it as a “complex process”.
In the first round, the two countries had pulled back their troops at Galwan, Hot Springs and Gogra post creating a buffer zone, which is not being patrolled by either side at the moment.
The minister visited Ladakh days after a 15-hour long meeting on Tuesday between senior military commanders at Chushul, the fourth between the two officers in the last 45 days, in which the two armies discussed the second - and the trickiest – part of disengagement in Pangong Tso and Depsang-Daulat Beg Oldie sectors in Ladakh.
A section of strategic affairs experts claim that by changing the perception of the LAC, the Chinese People's Liberation Army pushed India on a back foot on the negotiation table. The Ministry of External Affairs, however, disagreed with such a view.
While the Indian side insisted on the restoration of the status quo in all areas of eastern Ladakh prior to May 5 when the standoff began following a clash at Pangong Tso, the PLA had shifted marginally to Finger 5 while still keeping its troops on the ridgeline at Finger 4. India on its part vacated its post at Finger 4 and moved backward on the west.
A decision on the next round of talks between the military commanders will depend on further disengagement at the Pangong area.
Singh arrived in Leh on a daylong visit, accompanied by Chief of Defence Staff Gen Bipin Rawat and Army Chief Gen MM Naravane.
Before he reached the lake area, Singh witnessed a battle drill at Stakna by the troops of the Ladakh Scouts. He also received a briefing on the actual position of the troops from both sides. The troops also carried out para dropping and slithering exercises. The minister reached Srinagar in the afternoon.