Rajnath Singh briefs PM Modi on India-China border situation

NEW DELHI: Defence minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday briefed Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the clash between Indian and Chinese troops along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) border in which three Indian Army personnel were killed.

Singh’s briefing to Modi came after the defence minister chaired a meeting of senior military officials in New Delhi, including the chief of defence staff Bipin Rawat. Indian foreign minister S Jaishankar was also part of the meeting chaired by Singh.

According to news reports, some Indian soldiers were missing, possibly taken prisoner by the Chinese side. There were also unconfirmed reports of five Chinese People Liberation Army soldiers killed, while Indian Army statement said there were casualties on both sides.

According to the Indian Army, an Indian army officer and two others were killed on Monday in a “violent faceoff” between the two sides at Galwan in Ladakh, one of at least four areas that had seen tensions over the last few days. India had sent in reinforcements to match deployments from the Chinese side in Ladakh sector, according to people familiar with the matter. The Galwan river area was one of three from where a partial withdrawal of troops was taking place, after senior military commanders of the two countries met in Moldo, on the Chinese side of the LAC on 6 June, people familiar with the matter said last Tuesday.

Military commanders of Indian and Chinese armies were meeting on Tuesday to defuse the tensions after the “violent faceoff” in Ladakh on Monday night.

Responding to the day's developments, senior Congress leader and former party president Rahul Gandhi posted on Twitter: "Words cannot describe the pain I feel for the officers and men who sacrificed their lives for our country. My condolences to all their loved ones. We stand with you in this difficult time."

Earlier in the day, Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala issued a statement saying there should be no compromise with India's security and territorial integrity. He also questioned why top leaders of the union government were silent over the issue.