China-India border rift simmers with reports of troop moves on both sides

Name: Indians call for boycott of Chinese goods after deadly border clash with China
Uploaded: 2020-06-26T12:15:12.000Z
Duration: 1 min 58 s
Description: Indians call for boycott of Chinese goods after deadly border clash with China

Indian government says large numbers of personnel remain deployed in disputed region, warns status quo ‘unsustainable’

Claims contrast earlier pledges by the two countries to disengage and de-escalate after last week’s deadly encounter

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A satellite image taken on June 22 which appears to show a Chinese army base in Kongka Pass in the border region between India and China. Photo: AFP

Keegan Elmer

Published: 8:15pm, 26 Jun 2020Updated: 11:31am, 27 Jun 2020

Troop movements on both sides of the China-India border in the western Himalayas have thrown into question whether de-escalation is really taking place, as India warns the status quo is unsustainable.

Diplomatic voices from India and China have called for further talks and for troops to back off from the border, following last week’s deadly hand-to-hand fray in the Galwan Valley last week.

But India’s Ministry of External Affairs said on Thursday that troops on both sides remained deployed in large numbers in the region since the conflict on June 15 that left 20 Indian soldiers dead and dozens injured, with a still unknown number of Chinese casualties.

“A continuation of the current situation would only vitiate the atmosphere for the development of the relationship,” ministry spokesman Anurag Srivastava said late on Thursday night.

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Indians call for boycott of Chinese goods after deadly border clash with China

The comments stand in contrast to the pledges, by Chinese and Indian military leaders on Monday, to disengage, and de-escalate, in marathon 11-hour talks.

In an interview on Thursday with Indian local news service PTI, Chinese ambassador Sun Weidong put the blame for last week’s violence squarely on India. When asked how the dispute could be resolved, Sun said “the onus is not on China”, and called on the Indian side to conduct an investigation and “hold violators accountable”.