Despite diplomatic efforts to ease tensions on the borders with China, the Delhi government is ready to face any situation, according to the country’s defense minister.
Tensions on the China-India demarcation line are higher than they have been in a long time. Twenty Indian soldiers were already killed in skirmishes with Chinese soldiers last June.
Chinese and Indian forces have been facing each other in the eastern part of the Ladakh region since April, accusing each other of violating border agreements between the two countries.
Despite mutual diplomatic efforts to defuse tensions, Indian forces would not shy away from taking action to maintain the country’s sovereignty, Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh warned.
He added: “I repeat again that we don’t want conflict, we want peace, but we will not tolerate any attack on the country’s sovereignty.”
The India-China Border Consultation and Cooperation Working Group has met 18 times to resolve disputes along the more than 4,000-kilometer border with Ladakh.
In late September, Indian government sources claimed China had sent about 10,000 new troops to the disputed area along the Ladakh LoC. As a result, the number of Chinese troops massed in the region reaches about 52,000, who are also equipped with 150 combat aircraft and surface-to-air missiles.
New troops have reportedly been moved to the southern shore of Lake Pangong Tso in the Himalayas. The Indian Army is also stationed on the northern shore of Pangong Tso Lake and can observe what the Chinese forces are doing.
by Basit Abbasi