New Delhi, June: 19 China has said that India must not underestimate its firm will to safeguard its territorial sovereignty. The comments were made by Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying on Twitter.
“India must not misjudge the current situation or underestimate China’s firm will to safeguard its territorial sovereignty,” Hua said in her first tweet.
“Indian front-line troops broke the consensus and crossed the Line of Actual Control, deliberately provoking and attacking Chinese officers and soldiers, thus triggering fierce physical conflicts and causing casualties,” she said in a follow up tweet.
The remarks come a day after the External Affairs ministry rubbished the Chinese military’s claim of sovereignty over the Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh, at the heart of a border stand-off. India said such “untenable claims” go against an understanding between the senior military commanders reached on June 6 to de-escalate and disengage along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
Galwan Valley was the scene of what Indian officials have described as a “violent face-off” on Monday night that resulted in the death of 20 Indian soldiers, including a colonel. Dozens more were injured and there are reports of some Indian soldiers still being unaccounted for.
After the clash, a statement in Mandarin issued by the western command of China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) on Tuesday had said: “The sovereignty of the Galwan River Valley has always been ours.”
