Minister Clarifies Remark That India Transgressed into China
Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways General VK Singh took to Twitter on Wednesday to clarify that his statement on the ensuing face-off with China at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh was distorted and did not present facts.
Speaking to the media in Madurai earlier this week, the former Army chief was quoted as saying: “None of you come to know how many times we have transgressed as per our perception. We don’t announce it. Chinese media does not cover it… Let me assure you, if China has transgressed 10 times, we must have done it at least 50 times, as per our perception.”
Singh said India’s border with China had never been demarcated and the two countries have different perceptions about the de facto border.
On February 10, he clarified his stance. Refuting that he made such a statement, Singh said both countries continue to have different perceptions about the borders along the LAC.
In a letter posted on Twitter, the minister termed China’s refusal to settle border disputes as a ‘bullying tactic’ and said that any aggression by the People’s Liberation Army would be responded to with ‘equal or greater level’.
His statement comes after Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin termed the comments as an ‘unwitting confession’ and claimed India’s ‘frequent acts of trespass’ is the root cause of the tensions at the India-China border.
Singh also stated such a distortion of his statement had given the Chinese a platform to try and cover their own aggressive tracks and shift the responsibility of the LAC dispute entirely on India.
‘I am more aware of the LAC and the borders, suggest do not fall prey to the Chinese propaganda,’ Singh said in a tweet.
Following the remarks, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi demanded Singh’s dismissal, saying the comments had helped China make a case against India.
India and China went to war in 1962 and have not been able to settle their border dispute since then. However, tensions flared up on June 15 last year, during deadly clashes between Indian and Chinese soldiers in Galwan Valley of Ladakh region in which almost twenty Indian soldiers were killed.
Meanwhile, several rounds of the diplomatic and military level talks have been held over the past few months to disengage troops, but have failed to break the deadlock.
