India's EAM, S Jaishankar, Convenes Virtual Meeting with Chinese Counterpart, Talks Recent Face Off

The External Affairs Minister, S Jaishankar, and his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, held a phone conversation in the wake of a violent face-off in the Galwan valley of Ladakh on Wednesday afternoon. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), in a statement, said that the EAM conveyed the protest of the Government of India in the strongest terms and that it would have a serious impact on the bilateral relationship.

Meanwhile, PM, Narendra Modi, said the sacrifices of soldiers along the border will not go in vain. PM Modi also called for an all-party meeting at 5 pm on June 19, 2020 to discuss the situation along the India-China border. Party Presidents of various political parties are expected participate in the virtual meeting called by PM Modi.

Altogether 20 Indian Army personnel, including the commanding officer of 16 Bihar, were killed on Monday night during a violent face-off with Chinese troops in the Galwan valley of Ladakh where disengagement of troops on either side was underway. It is considered as the worst flare-up on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) over the past five decades. “The clashes were triggered by an argument over the position of Chinese soldiers who were erecting a new post on the southern bank of Galwan river in a ‘buffer zone’ – a no-man’s land”, sources from the Defense Ministry said. Sections of soldiers were either fell or pushed into the river, said sources. Some bodies were recovered from the river while others had signs of being brutalized. A few soldiers died of hypothermia. The Army said there were casualties on both sides. However Beijing kept mum on the losses caused to the People’s Liberation Army (PLA).

In 1975, the last deaths at the LAC were reported when an Indian patrol was ambushed by Chinese soldiers in Arunachal Pradesh. In 1967, another violent clash between the two sides at Nathu La was witnessed.