Modi’s clarification puzzles more
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's statement that India has not ceded any territory or faced intrusions from China has triggered an intense debate within India amid concerns it could weaken India's negotiating position with China.
It also led to a clarification from the Prime Minister's Office.
At a meeting with opposition leaders to explain the circumstances leading up to the violent face off on June 15 in which 20 Indian soldiers and an unknown number of Chinese soldiers were killed, Modi said no one had entered Indian territory or captured Indian military posts
His remarks came two days after External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had told his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, in a telephone conversation that Chinese troops had tried to put up a structure in Galwan valley on the Indian side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC), the de facto border between the two countries.
Amid the seemingly contradictory statements, the PMO in its clarification accused "some quarters" of "a mischievous interpretation." "As regards transgression of LAC, it was clearly stated that the violence in Galwan on 15 June arose because Chinese side was seeking to erect structures just across the LAC and refused to desist from such actions," said the statement from the PMO. "The Prime Minister's observations that there was no Chinese presence on our side of the LAC pertained to the situation as a consequence of the bravery of our armed forces."
Still the mixed messaging from the government triggered many more questions than it answered.
"This is an ill-considered comment from the Prime Minister. It seriously undermines India's negotiated position on the Line of Control and the territorial dispute itself," said Indian journalist and a retired Colonel of Indian Army Ajai Shukla.
Brahma Chellaney, an Indian geostrategist, tweeted: "How Modi's speech has become a Chinese propaganda coup: New Delhi has released one clarification, but it won't be the last. Undoing the damage will not be easy. The Chinese, of course, are celebrating. They have translated Modi's key words into Mandarin."
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian in a series of tweets on Saturday accused India of building fortification & barricades" on Chinese territory in Galwan in May, "roads, bridges and other facilities at the LAC in Galwan Valley" in April and on June 15 of "violently" attacking "Chinese officers" in the violent clash.
Some analysts, trying to explain the government's position, noted that India was clearly trying to find a diplomatic way out of the faceoff with China.
"Government has taken realistic view of constraints emanating from asymmetry of power with China," tweeted former foreign secretary Nirupama Rao.
India and China, which went to war in 1962, have disputes along several areas of their undemarcated border, which has remained largely peaceful for the last 45 years.
The current row erupted last month after India accused China of changing the status quo in the region and moving troops into forward positions in at least four spots along the border, including the Galwan Valley in Ladakh and Pangang Tso Lake in Sikkim.
Analysts list several underlying reasons for the clash: the competition between India and China over building infrastructure in the disputed territory, convergence of Indian and American geopolitical interests, and India's strong public stance against China's closeness to neighbouring Pakistan.
But a key factor, many said, might be the Indian government's decision last August to convert the northern state of Jammu and Kashmir into two federally administered territories. One of these is Ladakh, a disputed territory where the clashes took place.
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