Key takeaways from Defence Minister's India-China border row address

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh addresses the Parliament over the ongoing stand-off between Indian and Chinese troops along the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh on Tuesday

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Defence Minister Rajnath Singh addresses Parliament over the ongoing stand-off between Indian and Chinese troops along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh on Tuesday. In his address, Singh accused China of trying to change the status quo along the LAC and responsible for the military standoff.

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Singh also informed about a remarkable increase in Chinese artillery, leading to the face-off. Highlighting previous incidents, he said China had, in May, obstructed routine patrolling by Indian troops in Galwan Valley in Ladakh.

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The defence minister made it clear that India prefers resolving the border dispute in a peaceful manner and wants the Chinese side to work together. At the same time, we will do the best to protect India's sovereignty and territorial integrity, he said.

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While border issues are yet to be resolved, Chinese officials are defying the traditional and customary alignment of the boundary, which India considers to be based on well established geographical principles. The Chinese officials have been informed through diplomatic channels that the attempts to unilaterally alter the status quo were in violation of the bilateral agreements.

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However, the two countries pledged to de-escalate tensions along the LAC after their foreign ministers met on September 10 for the first time since May when the stand-off began. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, agreed that “the current situation in the border area is not in the interests of both sides,” according to a joint statement after a meeting on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Moscow. In view of this, both India and China will reduce the number of troops, and will stick to LAC as long as there's no resolution, Singh informed.