Hours after Modi's address, China lays claim to Galwan Valley

Hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's address to the nation assuring India’s resolve to protect its territory in Ladakh, the Chinese Foreign Ministry issued a statement on the face-off incident at the Galwan Valley calling it to be a "step-by-step account of the incident".

The statement, attributed to the Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian, claimed that the disputed area is located towards the Chinese side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and accused the Indian troops of 'unilaterally' building roads, bridges, and other facilities at the spot.

"For many years, the Chinese border troops have been patrolling and on duty in this region. Since April this year, the Indian border troops have unilaterally and continuously built roads, bridges, and other facilities at the LAC in the Galwan Valley. China has lodged representations and protests on multiple occasions but India has gone even further to cross the LAC and make provocations," the statement read.

"By the early morning of May 6, the Indian border troops, who had crossed the LAC by night and trespassed into China's territory, built fortification and barricades, which impeded the patrol of Chinese border troops. They deliberately made provocations in an attempt to unilaterally change the status quo of control and management. The Chinese border troops have been forced to take necessary measures to respond to the situation on the ground and strengthen management and control in the border areas," read the statement.

To ease the tension, China and India established a dialogue through military and diplomatic channels, the Foreign Ministry spokesperson said.

"In response to the strong demand of the Chinese side, India agreed to withdraw the personnel who crossed the LAC and demolish the facilities, and so they did. On June 6, the border troops of both countries held a commander-level meeting and reached consensus on easing the situation. The Indian side promised that they would not cross the estuary of the Galwan river to patrol and build facilities and the two sides would discuss and decide phased withdrawal of troops through the meetings between commanders on the ground," the statement said.

Terming the June 15 incident as shocking, the statement accused Indian troops of provocating the situation and violently attacking the Chinese officers and soldiers. 

The Chinese foreign ministry called for a second commander-level meeting as soon as possible to deal with the situation on the ground and to "immediately stop all provocative actions so as to ensure that such incidents do not happen again". 

It hoped that both India and China manage the current situation through diplomatic and military channels, and jointly uphold peace and stability in the border areas.

"The two sides agreed to handle in a just manner the serious situation caused by the Galwan Valley clash, observe the agreement reached during the commander-level meeting, cool down the situation on the ground as soon as possible, and uphold peace and tranquility of the border areas in accordance with bilateral agreements reached so far," the statement said.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Modi said that the Indian Army has been given adequate power to take appropriate action on the border, adding that "today we possess the capability that no one can eye even one inch of our land."

"India's armed forces have the capability to move into multiple sectors at one go," he said. He also thanked all the political parties for their positive support at this hour. 

The Prime Minister had called for an all-party meeting via video conferencing to discuss the situation in India-China border areas.