Ladakh face-off: China took pre-meditated action that led to violence, Indian FM tells Beijing

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Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar on Wednesday spoke to his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi over phone for the first time since the month-long standoff between troops at several points along the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh and Sikkim began.

On Monday, it appeared to have reached a peak after Indian and Chinese soldiers got into a scuffle, and 20 Indian personnel, including a colonel, were killed in clashes at Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh. Though some reports have said there around 40 Chinese soldiers died during these clashes, there is no official confirmation yet.

Jaishankar said the incident in Galwan was a “pre-meditated and planned action” by China, which led to the violence. He added that the border situation would now be handled in a responsible manner and both sides would disengage.

“It [China’s actions] reflected an intent to change the facts on ground in violation of all our agreements to not change the status quo,” the minister said, according to a statement by the foreign ministry. It added that Jaishankar conveyed the government’s protest against the clashes in the strongest terms.

“He recalled that at the meeting of senior military commanders held on June 6, an agreement was reached on de-escalation and disengagement along the Line of…

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