China's attempt to alter status quo will have ripples and repercussions: Indian envoy

The Indian envoy said that Chinese side needs to stop creating obstruction and hindrances in the normal patrolling patterns of the Indian troops.

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New Delhi: India on Friday (June 26) warned China that trying to alter the status quo on the ground by resorting to force will not just damage the peace that existed on the border areas but can also have ripples and repercussions in the broader bilateral relationship. It demanded that Beijing stop its activities in eastern Ladakh.

"The only way to resolve the current military standoff along the LAC in eastern Ladakh was for Beijing to realise that trying to change the status quo by resorting to force or coercion, is not the right way forward,?" India's ambassador to China Vikram Misri said in an interview on Friday. 

He said that Chinese side needs to stop creating obstruction and hindrances in the normal patrolling patterns of the Indian troops. He also rubbished China's claim of sovereignty over Galwan Valley in Ladakh as "completely untenable", and asserted that these kinds of exaggerated claims are not going to help the situation.

Misri emphasised that India is 'very aware and very clear about the alignment of the LAC in the Galwan Valley', and said that troops have been patrolling up to these areas without any difficulty for a very very long period of time.

Misri's strong comments came in response to the recent claims by the Chinese military and the foreign ministry of sovereignty over Galwan Valley.

As many as 20 Indian soldiers lost their lives in a violent face-off in eastern Ladakh's Galwan Valley earlier this month after an attempt by the Chinese troops to unilaterally change the status quo during the de-escalation in eastern Ladakh. The clash came even as the two countries were in talks to resolve the dispute at the Line of Actual Control (LAC). 

In a series of tweets, Misri said he told a news agency that "maintenance of peace and tranquillity in border areas is sine qua non for progress in rest of bilateral relationship. For resolution, Chinese side needs to stop creating obstructions and hindrances in the normal patrolling patterns of Indian troops."

"Chinese actions over an extended period of time are responsible for the current situation," he said in another tweet. 

"Whatever activities we may be carrying out have always been on our side of the LAC so the Chinese need to stop activities to alter the status quo. It is very surprising that they should attempt to do so in a sector which has never before been a sector of concern," the Indian envoy said. 

"China’s claim of sovereignty over Galwan Valley in Ladakh is completely untenable. These kinds of exaggerated claims are not going to help the situation," he added.

We hope that the Chinese side will realise its responsibility in de-escalation and disengagement, he further said.