ALSO READ | India Becomes Member Of UN's Economic And Social Council Body, China Fails To Secure Seat
The statement assumes significance in the backdrop of demands made by the Opposition for a debate on the issue. Singh had met his Chinese counterpart Gen Wei Fenghe in Moscow recently. "I want to assure you that we are ready to deal with any situation," he said. "I request this house to pass a resolution that we stand shoulder to shoulder with our armed forces who are guarding our borders to safeguard India's sovereignty and integrity."
"In meeting with Chinese Defence Minister, I clearly stated that while our troops had always taken a responsible approach towards border management, but at same time there should be no doubt about our determination to protect India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity," Rajnath Singh said.
In his address in the lower house of the Parliament, he said that the Chinese side created a violent face-off on June 15th at Galwan. Our brave soldiers laid down their lives and also inflicted costs including casualties on the Chinese side.
In past too, we've had situations of prolonged stand-offs in border areas with China which were resolved peacefully. Even though situation this year is very different both in terms of scale of troops involved and number of friction points, we remain committed to peaceful resolution, he said, highlighting that China continues to be in illegal occupation of approximately 38,000 sq. kms in Ladakh. In addition, under the so-called Sino-Pakistan 'Boundary Agreement' of 1963, Pakistan illegally ceded 5,180 sq. km. of Indian territory in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir to China.
Addressing the issue of the extreme cold weather at the border, the Raksha Mantri said the troops are accordingly being provisioned with suitable clothing, habitat and required defence wherewithal. "They are capable of serving at forbidding altitudes with scarce oxygen & in extremely cold temperatures, something that they've done over last many years on Siachen and Kargi," he said.
In the monsoon session, which began on Monday, the opposition is seeking to corner the government on several standpoints including standoff with China along the Ladakh LAC, the COVID-19 situation, economic downturn and unemployment, and is pressing for discussions on these issues.
Parliament convened again on Monday for the first time after almost six months as the session remained cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Indian Army and the Chinese People's Liberation Army(PLA) have been locked in a tense standoff in multiple areas along the LAC in eastern Ladakh since early May. Shots were fired across the LAC on Monday last for the first time in 45 years with the two sides accusing each other of firing in the air.
ALSO READ | India Overtakes Brazil and US To Record Highest Number Of Covid-19 Recoveries In The World
As per government sources, the overall situation at friction points in eastern Ladakh remains unchanged and continues to be tense, four days after foreign ministers of India and China agreed on a five-point plan to resolve the prolonged border standoff.
The sources also said both the Indian and Chinese troops are firmly holding onto their respective positions at the LAC. They said while the situation in the region continues to be tense no fresh movement of Chinese troops was witnessed.
The military talks are expected to focus on implementation of certain provisions of the five-point consensus to ease tensions. As per the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Indian side clearly conveyed that it expected full adherence to all agreements on management of border areas and would not countenance any attempt to change the status quo unilaterally.