No Indian troops missing in action after violent faceoff in Galwan, says MEA

The Ministry of External Affairs Thursday clarified that no Indian Army personnel were missing in action following Monday’s night’s violent showdown with Chinese troops in the Galwan valley of Ladakh. “This has been clarified by the Army today afternoon that there are no Indian troops missing in action,” MEA spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said while replying to questions whether some Indian soldiers are in captivity of China.

Meanwhile, the third round of military talks between India and China in the Galwan Valley made headway today, breaking the deadlock ever since the violent clashes. A fourth round of talks is scheduled there Friday. Many things are expected to be made clear in the upcoming meetings, an officer said.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, earlier today, said that the Indian Army soldiers had carried arms but followed protocols to not use them during the violent faceoff with Chinese troops in the Galwan valley of Ladakh. Responding to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s tweet asking why Indian soldiers were sent “unarmed to martyrdom” in Ladakh, Jaishankar said, “All troops on border duty always carry arms, especially when leaving post. Those at Galwan on 15 June did so. Long-standing practice (as per 1996 & 2005 agreements) not to use firearms during faceoffs.”

Taking a strong exception to China claiming sovereignty over the Galwan Valley, India had said that Bejing’s “exaggerated and untenable claims” are contrary to the understanding reached on the issue between the two sides. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also said India wants peace but “will give a befitting reply” if provoked.

In the worst flare-up on the Line of Actual Control in more than five decades, 20 Indian Army personnel, including the commanding officer of 16 Bihar, were killed Monday night in the Galwan valley of Ladakh where disengagement of troops on either side was underway. This is the first time in the last 45 years that Indian or Chinese troops have been killed on the LAC. In 1975, an Indian patrol was ambushed by the Chinese in Arunachal Pradesh.

Indian express