Ladakh Clash: India, China to Hold Talks This Week

NEW DELHI: A week after the violent face-off that took place on the night of June 15th between Indian and Chinese troops in Eastern Ladakh in which 20 Indian soldiers have been killed, the Army has now changed rules of engagement (RoE) with China across the Line of Actual Control. Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said that the Indian Army has been given full freedom to deal with the on-ground situation. According to the new RoE, the field commanders can use firearms under extraordinary circumstances.

Under previous rules of engagement, all the troops on border duty always carry arms, especially when leaving post and according to the agreements signed in 1996 and 2005, both India and China shouldn't use firearms during face-offs.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh reviewed the entire situation along the LAC with the military brass and said that India wants to maintain 'peace and tranquility'. The meeting lasted for an hour and was attended by chief of defence staff General Bipin Rawat and the three Service chiefs, General M M Naravane, Admiral Karambir Singh and Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria.

An official said that, They have been told not to start a fight, but also not to hold back in the event of any ground intrusion or breach of of airspace. The Army, Navy and IAF reported satisfactory levels of preparedness and high operational alertness along the LAC'

Reports on Sunday suggested that the diplomatic talk between the two countries are going to take place this week. The main purpose behind these talks is to disengage and descalate the troops in the Galwan Valley. Multiple rounds of military-level talks have occurred from last week till now but there is no solid conclusion.

However, this round of diplomatic talks is expected to end on a positive note. The first round of these military-level talks took place on June 6th at the Chinese side's meeting point for border personnel at Moldo. Commander of the 14 Corps, Lt General Harinder Singh was tasked with presenting India's side of equation whereas his counter part Major General Lin Liu led the Chinese delegation.

However, both the Ministry of External Affairs(MEA) and the Chinese Foreign Ministry engaged in an intense exchange of official statements over the June 15 incident. On June 16th, EAM Dr S Jaishankar spoke with the Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on call to discuss the violent face-off. India in its official statement said that 20 Indian soldiers were killed in the line of duty while another 76 incurred injuries. The Chinese have stated that PLA also suffered casualties but didn't release an official figure.