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Updated September 5th, 2020 at 13:32 IST

'Situation at LAC unprecedented, business cannot be as usual,' says Foreign Secretary

Shringla on Friday while speaking at a lecture organised by ICWA said the situation along LAC is “unprecedented” and it “cannot be business as usual”.

Reported by: Gargi Rohatgi
Harsh Shringla
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Foreign Secretary Harsh Shringla on Friday while speaking at a lecture organised by Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA) said that the situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) is “unprecedented” and it “cannot be business as usual” until Indian Army and Chinese PLA resolve existing border dispute near Ladakh. 

Harsh Shringla also said that the standoff between the Indian Army and Chinese PLA on the LAC is one of the major challenges India has faced in the past decades. He said, "We have had an unprecedented situation on the India-China border, we have never had this sort of situation since 1962. We have lost the lives of soldiers which has not happened in the last 40 years.”

READ | 118 More Chinese Apps Banned Including PUBG Amid Faceoff At LAC; Full List Here

'No compromise on sovereignty and integrity'

Few hours before the meeting between Indian and Chinese defence ministers on the margins of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meet in Moscow, the Foreign Secretary said, “We have also seen that there has been an attempt to take unilateral action that seems to be an effort to change facts on the ground. We will be firm and resolute in resisting this, and as far as we are concerned, there will be no compromise on our sovereignty and territorial integrity." 

READ | Unbelievable: Thwarted By Indian Army, Cornered China Accuses India Of LAC Incursion

He added that India is still willing to keep all the lines of communication with China amid pandemic COVID-19, the business will not be usual until the peace is maintained at the border. Shringla said in a statement, "The normal bilateral relationship will be affected. There is a linkage between what is happening on the border and our larger relationship and that fact is very, very evident.”

Many rounds of discussions at the military and diplomatic level and contacts between the two foreign ministers. After the recent faceoff on the south bank of Pangong Lake, there have been four rounds of talks between brigade commanders on the ground. Harsh Shringla says that the only way to take things forward is by resolving the issues and de-escalate and disengage the troops. 

READ | Donald Trump Says India-China LAC Tensions 'nasty', Wants To 'get Involved & Help'

Focussing on India's foreign policy, Shringla said that India is bravely coping up with the challenges bought due to COVID-19, which he describes as, “perhaps the greatest shock to the international system since World War 2". Even at the time, when every country across the globe is looking at its own interests first, India is still committed to its' neighbourhood first" policy, said Shringla. In a statement given by him, he asserts that there is a need for some sort of balance in the international system. At this time, the world should focus on ensuring that COVID-19 medicine is accessible and distributed to all. 

India-China faceoff at LAC

20 Indian Army soldiers were martyred in a violent faceoff which took place on June 15 at Galwan Valley. As per Chinese media, the Chinese PLA also suffered casualties. Later on August 29 and 30, Chinese troops violated the consensus arrived at during military and diplomatic talk regarding LAC dispute. As per the official statement issued by the Defence Ministry, "Indian troops pre-empted this PLA activity on the Southern Bank of Pangong Tso Lake, undertook measures to strengthen our positions and thwart Chinese intentions to unilaterally change facts on the ground."

READ | EAM S Jaishankar Addresses LAC Faceoff, Says 'China Has Not Gained From Incursions'

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Published September 5th, 2020 at 13:17 IST

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