Rajnath Singh calls meeting with Defence chiefs after India-China border clash

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has called a high-level meeting today in New Delhi to take stock of the situation after the clash that took place between Indian and Chinese troops along the Line of Actual Control in Arunachal Pradesh.

The Defence Minister will be meeting Army Chief General Manoj Pande, Navy Chief Admiral R Hari Kumar and Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari to discuss what steps are needed to be taken in the wake of the skirmish on Friday.

Foreign Minister Dr S Jaishankar and Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan, will also attend the meeting. Foreign secretary Vinay Kwatra and Defence Secretary Giridhar Aramane will be present as well.

Indian troops deployed in the area of face-off on Friday in Arunachal Pradesh’s Tawang sector gave a befitting response to the Chinese troops and the number of Chinese soldiers injured in the clash is more than the Indian soldiers, sources said on Monday.

They said the Chinese had come heavily prepared with around 300 soldiers but did not expect the Indian side also to be well prepared. Both sides had immediately disengaged from the area.

As a follow-up to the incident, India’s Commander in the area held a Flag Meeting with his Chinese counterpart to discuss the issue in accordance with structured mechanisms to restore peace and tranquillity.

Sources said that in certain areas along the LAC in the Tawang Sector there are areas of differing perception, wherein both sides patrol the area up to their claim lines. This has been the trend since 2006.