INDIA TELLS CHINA: STOP MAKING UNTENABLE TERRITORIAL CLAIMS

India on Thursday cautioned China against making “exaggerated and untenable claims” on the sovereignty of the Galvan Valley area even as both nations tried to end a standoff in the high Himalayan region where their armies engaged in a deadly clash.

Twenty Indian troops were killed in the clash Monday night that was the deadliest conflict between the sides in 45 years. China has not disclosed whether its forces suffered any casualty but India earlier said there were Chinese fatalities.

Responding to China’s claim to the valley, India’s External Affairs Ministry spokesman Anurag Srivastava said both sides have agreed to handle the situation responsibly, the Associated Press (AP) reported on June 18, 2020. “Making exaggerated and untenable claims is contrary to this understanding,” he said in a statement. China has been condemned for occupying Panatag Shoal within the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of the Philippines and transforming reefs, shoals and sandbars into man-made islands for its Navy and Air Force. Beijing wants control of 90% of the South China Sea (SCS) and has even staked fishing rights in the Natuna Islands of Indonesia despite losing in the case lodged by the Philippines before the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in Utercht, The Netherlands, in 2016.

Both sides accused each other of instigating the clash between their forces in the valley, part of the disputed Ladakh region along the Himalayan frontier. Media reports said senior army officers of the two sides met Wednesday to defuse the situation, but there was no confirmation from either side. Indian security forces said neither side fired any shots, instead throwing rocks and trading blows. The Indian soldiers, including a colonel, died of severe injuries and exposure in the area’s sub-zero temperatures, officials said.