If Narendra Modi seemed to imply that China had not intruded into Ladakh, one of his ministers who is a former army chief has gone further and suggested it’s India that is the habitual intruder.
General V.K. Singh, junior road and highways minister, has asserted that India has crossed the Line of Actual Control more often than China but the government never announced it, prompting military veterans to dub the comment “shameful” and “shocking” coming from a former army chief.
They asked whether Singh was making out a case for the government to accept the estimated 1,000sqkm of India-claimed territory that China is accused of occupying.
On Monday, the Chinese foreign ministry pounced on Singh’s remark, terming it “an unwitting confession” by the Indian side and accused Delhi of trespassing the border to encroach on China’s territory.
Several veterans drew parallels with Prime Minister Modi’s no-intrusion remark on June 19, days after the Galwan Valley clash that killed 20 Indian soldiers, that too had played into China’s hands.
“Neither has anyone intruded into our frontier there, neither is any intruder there, nor is any of our posts occupied by someone else,” Modi had told an all-party meeting — a remark he never retracted.
“With such ridiculous statements (as Singh’s) we are again playing into China’s hands after the no-intrusion claim by Modi,” a former army commander said.
“It seems India has accepted the new status quo and given up its demand for the restoration of status quo ante as of April 2020 (before the latest Chinese intrusion in May last year).”
Former army officer Pravin Sawhney tweeted: “3 things on former COAS Gen V.K. Singh: He is making a case for Gov to accept 1,000 sq km occupation of our territory by PLA. He has let down the army he commanded. He does not know warfare — his move will strengthen China’s case for occupation war by 2024!”
Media reports say that during the military talks, the Chinese have indicated that India should “accept the new status quo”.
Singh’s statement appeared to be driven by the sort of bravado that had prompted the Modi government to advertise its 2016 “surgical strikes on terror launch pads” across the Line of Control.
Security establishment veterans had at the time said that such stealth strikes were not unprecedented but diplomatic and security considerations had ensured they were never advertised.A Chinese foreign ministry statement said: “This is an unwitting confession by the Indian side. For a long time, the Indian side has conducted frequent acts of trespass in the border area in an attempt to encroach on China’s territory and constantly created disputes and frictions, which is the root cause of the tensions at the China-India border.”
Singh had in Madurai on Sunday said the border with China had never been demarcated and China had transgressed many times over the years with its own perception of the LAC.
“Similarly, none of you come to know how many times we have transgressed as per our perception. 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,” The Hindu quoted him as saying.
A retired army commander told The Telegraph: “It’s shameful that a former army chief who is now a minister has this view on an issue concerning India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. Does he think some sort of kabaddi match is going on along the LAC?”
A former lieutenant general said: “This is a shocking and disturbing statement by a former army chief. Does it mean India is willing to accept the revised status quo in eastern Ladakh?”
Indian and Chinese troops have since May 2020 been locked in a standoff at multiple points in Ladakh — the Depsang Plains, Pangong Lake and Hot Springs — with nine rounds of military talks failing to break the deadlock.
India’s government and army statements, released after each round of talks, have in recent months dropped any reference to the demand for restoration of status quo ante.
Singh said India had warned China with equal measures over the Ladakh transgression.
“Today, China is under pressure since we are sitting at places (along the border) where it does not like,” Singh was quoted as saying.
He said India had hit Beijing economically by banning its apps and boycotting its goods.