India accuses China of ‘provocative military movements’ in eastern Ladakh

India today accused China of "carrying out provocative military movements to change the status quo" along the tense border in eastern Ladakh two days ago and said Indian troops "pre-empted" the Chinese troops' move on the southern banks of Pangong Tso lake.

The Indian defence ministry said in a statement that "on the night of August 29, 2020, China's People's Liberation Army troops violated the previous consensus arrived at during military and diplomatic engagements during the ongoing standoff in eastern Ladakh and carried out provocative military movements to change the status quo.

However, "the Indian troops pre-empted this PLA activity on the southern bank of Pangong Tso Lake, undertook measures to strengthen our positions and thwart Chinese intentions to unilaterally change facts on ground," the ministry added.

It said while "the Indian army is committed to maintaining peace and tranquillity through dialogue, it is also equally determined to protect its territorial integrity."

A brigade commander-level flag meeting is on at Chushul to resolve the issues, the statement said.

The latest border incident came two and half months after the clash between Indian and Chinese troops at Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh where 20 Indian soldiers were killed. The Chinese side too had suffered casualties.

Last week, India's External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had said in an interview to a news portal that the Sino-India face-off along the Line of Actual Control this year was the "most serious situation since 1962 (when India and China had fought a war)."

India and China have so far held several rounds of military and diplomatic talks but not much headway has been made to resolve the standoff barring a limited disengagement in some parts of eastern Ladakh.