PM on China issue: India wants peace but is capable of giving a befitting reply if provoked, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Wednesday, his first remarks on the border clash between soldiers of the Indian and Chinese army in eastern Ladakh on Monday evening.

His remarks came at the sixth interaction with Chief Ministers, via video conferencing, to discuss the situation emerging post-Unlock 1.0 and plans ahead for tackling the COVID-19 pandemic.

In his opening remarks on day two of the virtual conference with chief ministers on coronavirus, he also said that India wants peace but is capable of giving a befitting reply if instigated.

For us, the unity and sovereignty of the country are most important, he said.

Modi said India has always tried that differences do not become disputes. Later, the prime minister and those attending the meeting observed silence of a few minutes as a mark of respect for the slain soldiers.

Twenty Indian soldiers including a colonel were killed on Monday evening in a clash with Chinese troops in eastern Ladakh’s Galwan Valley.

The prime minister started his meeting with chief ministers on the Covid-19 with a two-minute silence as a tribute to the 20 soldiers who were killed in action in Galwan Valley this week. As he spoke, it became clear that the message was aimed not just at reassuring the nation but also delivering a sharp message to Beijing.

“I would like to assure the nation that the sacrifice of our jawans will not be in vain. For us, the unity and sovereignty of the country is the most important,” PM Modi said. Home minister Amit Shah and defense minister Rajnath Singh were also present in the meeting.

A large number of Indian and Chinese troops have been engaged in an eyeball-to-eyeball situation in Galwan Valley and certain other areas of eastern Ladakh for the last five weeks, including in Pangong Tso, Galwan Valley, Demchok and Daulat Beg Oldie in eastern Ladakh.

Here are the latest updates

  • China, India agree to resolve border clash in a fair way, de-escalate as soon as possible, reports Reuters quoting China foreign ministry.
  • Home minister Amit Shah said the entire nation and the Modi government is standing firmly with families of soldiers killed along Sino-India border in this hour of grief. “Pain of losing our brave soldiers while protecting our motherland at Ladakh’s Galwan cannot be put in words. Nation salutes our immortal heroes who sacrificed their lives to keep Indian territory safe and secure,” he said.
  • Kolkata-based importers have started holding back their orders to China. A large range of consumer products from toys to lights and industrial items are imported from China, president of Calcutta Customs House Agents Association, Sujit Chakrabarty said.
  • China said that it does not wish to see “more clashes” with India. “From the Chinese side, we do not wish to see more clashes,” said Zhao Lijian, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said. “We are having communication through diplomatic and military channels. The right and wrong of this is very clear… The incident happened on the Chinese side of Line of Actual Control (LAC) and China is not to blame for it,” Lijian added.
  • PM Narendra Modi made the statement on China during a video conferencing in which Union Home Minister Amit Shah and chief ministers of 15 states and union territories, were also present. He asked everyone to observe two-minute silence as a tribute to the soldiers who lost their lives in the clash.
  • We have tried that differences do not become disputes: PM Modi on Ladakh face-off.
  • “I would like to assure the nation that the sacrifice of our jawans will not be in vain. For us, the unity and sovereignty of the country are the most important. India wants peace but it is capable to give a befitting reply if instigated”: PM Modi.
  • “From early May, Chinese PLA has been trying to occupy the ground position on the basis of its idea of LAC and we don’t agree with their perception. So, Indian troops in early May stopped Chinese troops from advancing: Gautam Bambawale, former Indian Ambassador to China.
  • A group of six-seven ex-armymen gathered near the Chinese embassy in Delhi to stage a protest under the banner of Martyr’s Welfare Association.
  • Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Chennai Super Kings (CSK) has suspended its team doctor, Madhu Thottappillil, after he posted a tweet about recent India-China military stand-off ‘in bad taste’. “Just curious if the Coffins will come back with a ‘PM CARES’ sticker on them?” he had reportedly tweeted.
  • Names of the 20 Indian Army personnel who lost their lives in the “violent face-off” with China in Galwan Valley, Ladakh.