It may appear that the Ministry of Defence has deleted an important document that speaks on the LAC transgressions and the stand-off between Indian and Chinese troops at Galwan Valley in Ladakh.
According to the official document listing out the major activities of the department of defence in June, the Rajnath Singh-led Ministry of Defence said the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) transgressed into the Indian side in the areas of Kugrang Nala, Gogra and the north bank of Pangong Tso on May 17-18. It was uploaded on the ministry’s website on August 4.
However, journalist Vijata Singh pointed out that the document has since been deleted from the ministry's website.
“Consequent to this, ground level interactions were held between armed forces of both sides to defuse the situation. Corps Commander Level Flag Meeting was held on 6th June. 2020. However, a violent face-off incident took place between the two side s on 15the June resulting in casualties of both sides,” the document said.
When we went on the Ministry of Defence's website, there was a document uploaded on August 5, but the August 4 document has been taken down by somebody from their team.
On July 7, India and China agreed on complete disengagement of troops at the earliest along the Line of Actual Control and de-escalation in border areas.
This reassuring decision was announced by both sides following a telephone conversation between senior representatives of the two countries; the Indian side was represented by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval.
This decision has come almost three weeks after the martyrdom of Indian soldiers in the violent standoff at Galwan and two days after PM Modi’s unannounced visit to Ladakh, where he warned the Chinese of the follies of expansionism.
Under the agreement, both armies have already retreated nominally – at least one km -- from the Galwan valley's bloody site at Point 14 to create a 'no man's land' or a buffer zone. This is important for optics as the Indian side can then assert that the Chinese are no longer on its territory in Galwan.
