India-China standoff: Situation sensitive but not dangerous, says govt; both sides in touch at local, diplomatic level

The situation at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) where Chinese troops have entered the Indian territory is "sensitive but not dangerous", government sources in New Delhi said on Tuesday. 

Both sides are also in touch at various levels to end the stand-off between two nuclear-armed neighbours, sources added. 

This comes as a number of the high-level meeting took place in Delhi on the Chinese build up on the Indian side of the LAC. 

WION has also learnt that both sides are in communication to resolve the current situation. 

"Both sides are in communication at the diplomatic, local level," sources told WION. 

While both Delhi and Bejing are officially tight-lipped on the matter, Global times, the Chinese government mouthpiece, confirmed that "Chinese border defence troops have enhanced control measures in the Galwan Valley region".

Galwan valley is an area in eastern Ladakh where the Chinese troops are reported to have entered.

While Global times claimed that built up in response to India's construction of a structure, New Delhi has said the Chinese had hindered Indian patrols in the area.

The Ministry of External Affairs in a statement said, "All Indian activities are entirely on the Indian side of the LAC. In fact, it is the Chinese side that has recently undertaken activity hindering India's normal patrolling patterns. The Indian side has always taken a very responsible approach towards border management."

Explaining that "Indian troops are fully familiar with the alignment of the Line of Actual Control in the India-China border areas and abide by it scrupulously", MEA said, "Indian side has always taken a very responsible approach towards border management" and "At the same time, we are deeply committed to ensuring India's sovereignty and security."

While Ladakh face-off has caught the attention of the media, the recent face-off at Naku la, Sikkim and other places across along the LAC have been a worrisome development.

After the two-month-long Doklam crisis in 2017, India and China established a mechanism of informal summits alternating between the two countries to resolve any problems that may arise. 

At the first informal summit in Wuhan in 2018, both sides gave "guidance" to forces and "committed" to work for the "common objective of maintenance of peace and tranquillity in border areas". This was reiterated again in the Mamallapuram informal summit that took place last year in India.