Situation on LAC in eastern Ladakh remains same: Rajnath Singh

Union Defense Minister Rajnath said on Wednesday that diplomatic and military level talks with China to resolve the deadlock on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh have not yielded any "meaningful solution" and the situation remains the same. 

In an interview with ANI, the defense minister said that if the status quo prevails, the deployment of troops cannot be reduced. Rajnath Singh referred to a meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination (WMCC) earlier this month on Indo-China border matters and said that the next round of military talks could be held anytime.

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He said that it is true that talks were being held at the military and diplomatic level to reduce the deadlock between India and China. But there is no success so far. The next round of talks at the military level will take place. 

He said that "messages are being exchanged between the two countries on which issues will be discussed". After the WMCC meeting on 18 December, the Ministry of External Affairs had said that the two sides agreed to maintain close consultation at the diplomatic and military levels. 

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They said they agreed that the next round of senior commanders' meetings should be held soon so that both sides could work towards early and complete disbandment of troops with the LAC, according to existing bilateral agreements and protocols, and Restore peace completely. 

He said that if any country is expansionist and tries to occupy our land, then India has the strength, capacity and power to not let its land go into the hands of anyone, irrespective of any country in the world. Is this year's incident on the border a result of possible collusion between China and Pakistan? In response to this question, Rajnath said that - India's focus is that 'We will not end what we are teasing'. We want to maintain peaceful relations with all countries.

Rajnath said that I do not want to question the previous governments, but I can say that since PM Modi took power, national security has been the number one priority and we are providing maximum facilities to our defense forces. He further said that since coming into existence, Pakistan has been indulging in nefarious activities on the border. Our troops have proved that not only this side, but also to eliminate terrorism, they can go to the other side and attack terrorist targets when needed. India has that capability.

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The Defense Minister said that China is developing a lot of infrastructure in its border areas. India is also developing a rapid infrastructure for the people and soldiers at the border. We are not developing the infrastructure to attack any country but are doing it for our people. I would like to say about the Prime Minister of any country that the internal affairs of India should not be commented on. India does not require any external intervention. This is our internal matter. No country has the right to comment on our internal affairs.

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