Armed forces displayed 'Sayyam' and 'Shaurya': Rajnath Singh on India-China face-off
Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday said that on June 15, Col Santosh Babu, along with his 19 brave soldiers, made the supreme sacrifice in the Galwan Valley towards the cause of defending the territorial integrity of India."
"Our PM himself went to Ladakh to boost the morale of forces," he said while addressing the Rajya Sabha during the Monsoon session of the Parliament.
"China continues to be in illegal occupation of approx 38,000 sq. km in the Union Territory of Ladakh. In addition, under the so-called Sino-Pakistan 'Boundary Agreement' of 1963, Pakistan illegally ceded 5,180 sq. km. of Indian territory in PoK to China," Rajnath Singh said.
He further said that "China also claims approximately 90,000 sq. km. of Indian territory in the Eastern Sector of the India-China boundary in Arunachal Pradesh."
Talking about the India-China face-off, Rajnath Singh said that "Conduct of our armed forces throughout these incidents shows that while they maintained 'Sayyam' in face of provocative actions, they also equally displayed 'Shaurya' when required to protect the territorial integrity of India."
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"Chinese actions reflect a disregard of our various bilateral agreements. The amassing of the troops by China goes against the 1993 and 1996 Agreements. Respecting and strictly observing Line of Actual Control is the basis for peace and tranquility in the border areas," the Defence Minister said.
On India-China border tension, Rajnath Singh said "While our armed forces abide scrupulously by it, this has not been reciprocated by the Chinese side."
"China, in the last many decades undertook significant infrastructure construction activity to enhance its deployment capabilities in the border areas. Our Government too has stepped up the budget for border infrastructure development to about double the previous levels," he said.
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He further said that "The situation this year is very different both in terms of the scale of troops involved and a number of friction points. We do remain committed to a peaceful resolution of the current situation. At the same time, we remain prepared to deal with all contingencies."
-PTC News
