BEIJING, June 24 (APP)::Indian border troops trespassed into the Chinese side of Galwan valley first and provoked the incident while Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and Indian media have made some false reports about the clash, the Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said on Wednesday.
It is the Indian border troops that illegally crossed the Line of Actual Control (LAC) first. The West section is quite clear. The Galwan Valley is on the Chinese side of LAC. One June 19, I have talked about in detail about the whole incident. The rights and wrongs of it are quite clear. The onus is not on China part, Zhao Lijian said in a statement during his regular briefing.
He said recently, clash in the Galwan Valley has attracted great attention worldwide and added, It is the Indian border troop that illegally crossed LAC first.
Zhao Lijian said the West Section of the border between the two countries is quite clear. Galwan Valley is on the Chinese side of LAC and China border troops have been patrolling along this area. So it is pretty clear with local management.
Since April this year, India has been building roads and bridges unilaterally, changing the status quo about which, China made representations many times.
He said on early morning of May 6, India border troops under guise of darkness, trespassed into China territory and provoked the incident, adding, China troops had to take necessary measures to strengthen their response and their management of the border areas.
The spokesperson said secondly, it is the Indian side that went against bilateral agreement and provoked first. Because of our diplomatic and military representations, the Indian side at first agreed to withdraw personnel from Galwan Valley and so it did, and it dismantled its facilities as requested by the Chinese side.
He remarked that during the first Commander meeting on June 6, Indian side committed no trespassing of the Galwan Valley for patrol and for building structures.
The two sides agreed to set up observatory posts at the two sides of the Galwan river estuary, but the Indian side went against these agreements and asked China to dismantle its posts and also it crossed the Line which led to the clash.
Zhao Lijian said third, it is the Indian side that attacked first in violation of international rules.
On the evening of June 15, India frontline troops went against the agreement, reached at the Commander level meeting, crossed the LAC and sabotaged the tents set up by the Chinese side.
When China border troops went to negotiate as per protocol, the Indian side suddenly attacked Chinese personnel violently, which led to fierce physical clashes and casualties, he added.
He said this risky behaviour by the Indian side greatly violated the agreement between the two countries and the basic norms guiding international relation. It’s very serious, with very severe consequences.
The spokesperson said that according to the agreement reached by the two foreign ministers during their phone call on Jun 17, the two sides agreed to deal with this serious matter in a just way and agreed that they would stick to the Commander level meeting consensus and cool down the situations as soon as possible.
The two sides would also maintain peace and tranquility of the border areas, in accordance with the agreement
reached so far, he added.
He said on June 22 and 23, a second round of Commander level meeting was held. The two sides agreed to take measures to de-escalate the situation and jointly promote peace and tranquility.
“We hope this time the Indian side will strictly follow the agreement and work with China to take concrete actions and resume peace and stability in the border areas”, he added.
Regarding purpose of his statement, he said that his statement just now is meant to clarify the whole situation, tell the truth to everyone.
“We made this statement because the MEA in India and also Indian media have made some false reports”, he said.
The disputed border covers nearly 2,200 miles of frontier that the two countries call the Line of Actual Control.
Though skirmishes are not new along the frontier, the standoff at Galwan Valley, where India is building a strategic road connecting the region to an airstrip close to China, has escalated in recent weeks.
India and China fought a border war in 1962 that also spilled into Ladakh. The two countries have been trying to settle their border dispute since the early 1990s without success.