External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat and Army chief General Manoj Naravane have left the residence of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh after a meeting in the wake of killing of an Indian Army official and two soldier.
One Indian Army Colonel and two jawans died on Monday night after clashes took place between India and China at the Galwan Valley region in Ladakh.
Senior military officials of the two sides are currently meeting at the venue to defuse the situation," stated the official statement by the Indian Army. China has also reported casualties after the clash.
This is the first instance of casualty between the two sides since 1975.
The Ministry of External Affairs has issued its statement on the violent clash at Galwan valley in Ladakh on late Monday night that resulted in deaths of one Indian Army official and two jawans. The Ministry assured that the government is committed to sovereignty and territorial integrity of India.
The full statement is as follows:
In response to media queries on the situation in the western sector of the India-China border, the Official Spokesperson Mr. Anurag Srivastava said,
"India and China have been discussing through military and diplomatic channels the de-escalation of the situation in the border area in Eastern Ladakh.
Senior Commanders had a productive meeting on 6th June 2020 and agreed on a process for such de-escalation. Subsequently, ground commanders had a series of meetings to implement the consensus reached at a higher level.
While it was our expectation that this would unfold smoothly, the Chinese side departed from the consensus to respect the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Galwan Valley.
On the late-evening and night of 15th June, 2020 a violent face-off happened as a result of an attempt by the Chinese side to unilaterally change the status quo there. Both sides suffered casualties that could have been avoided had the agreement at the higher level been scrupulously followed by the Chinese side.
Given its responsible approach to border management, India is very clear that all its activities are always within the Indian side of the LAC. We expect the same of the Chinese side.
We remain firmly convinced of the need for the maintenance of peace and tranquillity in the border areas and the resolution of differences through dialogue. At the same time, we are also strongly committed to ensuring India's sovereignty and territorial integrity.
