The Centre told Parliament that China is stopping Indian troops from patrolling some of the areas they used to along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), identifying this as the main reason for the ongoing face-off.
This was said in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday by defence minister Rajnath Singh in response to a clarification sought by Congress MP A.K. Antony on his statement on “the developments on our borders in Ladakh” that was tabled in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday.
“Antony sahab... ne yeh kaha ki China patrolling karne se Bharat ko rokta hai. Mein yah spasht kar dena chahta hoon ki ladai bhi toh isiliye ho rahi hai, fasaad toh isliye hota hai (Mr Antony... said China stops India from patrolling. I want to make it clear that the fight is happening because of this, this is the cause of the dispute),” Rajnath said.
He did not divulge any further details, asserting that the patrolling pattern that Antony — himself a former defence minister — had referred to was traditional and well-defined.
“No force on earth can stop Indian troops from patrolling these areas. It is for this that our soldiers made the supreme sacrifice. There will be no change in the patrolling pattern,” Rajnath said.
Antony had said the army and the ITBP must be allowed to patrol till the points that “we used to patrol”, stressing that Indian troops were not being allowed up to Finger Point 8, which they used to patrol.
While Rajnath was drawn into commenting on the patrolling, he sidestepped questions from Antony and party colleague Anand Sharma whether the restoration of status quo ante would remain a non-negotiable and final objective for India.
Antony was persistent. “The defence minister promised the House that the government will do everything to protect the sovereignty of the country. What does it mean? You have to clarify if ‘sovereignty’ means status quo ante as in mid-April. That is the meaning of protecting sovereignty — status quo ante as of April.”
Referring to his statement in the context of the questions posed by the two Congress members, Rajnath said: “I have clarified it completely in my statement.”
His statement, however, did not mention “status quo ante” even once. What it did was repeatedly assert that neither side should unilaterally alter the status quo.
Patrolling points are designated spots on the LAC that are patrolled according to a pre-determined schedule by the security forces. They are a way of asserting India’s claims along the LAC, which is yet to be delineated. In the Fingers area of the Pangong Lake, flashpoints emerge when the patrols of the two armies end up at the same point around the same time — a possible fallout of the claim lines going beyond the areas physically held.
Commenting on the day’s proceedings, Jairam Ramesh, the Congress chief whip in the Rajya Sabha, tweeted: “Raksha Mantri’s statement this afternoon in the Rajya Sabha drew the support of all political parties. But sadly we are none the wiser on the PM’s claim of 19th June. Was that deliberate or was it a slip-up? Was it a ploy or a mis-step? Whatever it was, it continues to haunt India.”
Given the questions and doubts that persist about the situation along the LAC and the Chinese intent — about which even external affairs minister S. Jaishankar has admitted “we are at a loss to know why” — Rajya Sabha Chairman Venkaiah Naidu suggested to Rajnath that he privately brief leaders of the Opposition parties on the situation.
Later, briefing reporters, external affairs ministry spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said: “The Chinese side should sincerely work with the Indian side for complete disengagement at the earliest from all friction areas including Pangong Lake as well as de-escalation in border areas in accordance with the bilateral agreements and protocols on maintenance of peace and tranquillity in border areas. We hope the Chinese side will strictly respect and observe the LAC and not make further attempts to unilaterally change status quo.”
Earlier in the day, the Chinese foreign ministry had articulated a similar expectation from India, asserting that China had strictly adhered to all border agreements.
“What is pressing now is that the Indian side should immediately correct its mistake, disengage on the ground as soon as possible and take concrete actions to ease the tension and lower the temperature along the border,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said.