Amid heightened tensions with China over boundary issue, India on Monday demanded the withdrawal of Chinese troops from Indian territory in the Pangong Tso area of eastern Ladakh.
According to a report by Times of India, during the second round of top-level military talks on Monday, India strongly reiterated its demand for restoration of status quo which would involve People’s Liberation Army (PLA) troops pulling back on the north bank of Pangong Tso.
India has also increased technical drone surveillance on Ladakh LAC with Israeli Heron drones, reported Hindustan Times. As per a report by Hindustan Times, India has increased technical drone surveillance of the area even as the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) has inducted more battalions into the sector to support army along the 3,488 km Line of Actual Control (LAC).
On Tuesday, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi once again sharpened his attack on the Centre over the India-China face off and questioned whether China occupied the Indian land. "We stand united against the Chinese invasion. Has China occupied Indian land?" Rahul Gandhi said in a tweet./
His remarks came ahead of the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting to discuss the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) situation in the country. The India-China border face off is also going to be discussed in the meeting.
Atleast twenty Indian Army personnel were killed in the violent hand-to-hand clashes with Chinese troops in Galwan Valley on June 15. After the incident, the government has given the armed forces "full freedom" to give a "befitting" response to any Chinese misadventure along the 3,500-km de-facto border.
The two armies were engaged in a standoff in Galwan and several other areas of eastern Ladakh since May 5 when their troops clashed on the banks of the Pangong Tso. The situation in eastern Ladakh deteriorated after around 250 Chinese and Indian soldiers were engaged in a violent face-off on May 5 and 6. The incident in Pangong Tso was followed by a similar incident in north Sikkim on May 9.
