‘We are talking to the Chinese both through military channels and diplomatic ones’, he said.
Foreign Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. (Photo: AFP)
External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar said that the situation at the LAC is most serious after 1962 Indo-China war.
“This is surely the most serious situation after 1962. In fact, after 45 years, we have had military casualties on this border. The quantum of forces currently deployed by both sides at the LAC is also unprecedented,” Jaishankar told Rediff.com in an interview ahead of the release of his book.
The situation at the border has been very serious since last few months after the PLA troops intruded into the Galwan Valley in the eastern part of Ladakh.
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“If we look back at the last three decades, this is quite self-evident. Indian and Chinese armies are locked in a tense stand-off in eastern Ladakh for over three-and-half-month despite multiple rounds of diplomatic and military talks,” the foreign minister said.
“If you look back over the last decade, there have been a number of border situations — Depsang, Chumar and Doklam. In a sense, each one was different. This one surely is. But what is also common is that all border situations were resolved through diplomacy,” he added.
“As you know, we are talking to the Chinese both through military channels and diplomatic ones. In fact, they work in tandem,” he told Rediff.com.
Tensions spiked after 20 Indian soldiers were killed in action at Galwan Valley on June 15. However, the Indian side responded bravely but the casualty at the Chinese side remained unreported.
Following the attack, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had categorically stated in an all-party meeting on the Chinese intrusion in the Galwan valley and the killing of Indian soldiers that “no Indian post or territory is occupied by anyone.”
“Neither has anyone intruded into our territory nor taken over any post. Our forces are doing what they have to do to protect the country, whether it is deployment, action or counter-action. Our patrolling capacity has increased due to newly built infrastructure, especially along LAC,” he had said.
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