Representational image of an Indian and a PLA soldier at a section of the LAC
Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Ladakh UT's governor RK Mathur on Tuesday evening, during which they held consultations on the ongoing faceoff between Indian and People's Liberation Army (PLA) troopers in the Galwan River area in the region.
The meeting with Mathur followed the PM's call with the National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat, which was also attended by General MM Naravane, Air Chief Marshall RKS Bhadauria and Admiral Karambir Singh, the three heads of the Army, Air Force and the Navy.
Earlier in the day, Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh was briefed on the ongoing security situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) by CDS General Bipin Rawat and the three service chiefs.
The defence minister was also briefed by General Naravane on Sunday, two days after he concluded his visit to the Galwan river area to take stock of the force's preparedness as China ramped up its troop deployment along the de-facto border.
At least 5,000 Chinese troops are said to have been positioned along the LAC following clashes between Indian and PLA soldiers on May 5 in the region. The Chinese troop deployment has been matched with Indian forces in equal measure.
Satellite images released by an expert from the Australian Strategic and Policy Institute (ASPI) last week have shown build-ups on both sides of the LAC, with unverified evidence also pointing towards the positioning of Chinese artillery units on the other side of the LAC.
At least six rounds of flag talks have been held since May 5 in a bid to de-escalate the situation but to little or no avail.
Meetings between the soldiers of the two forces were held on May 22 and May 23 at the Border Personnel Meeting (BPM) point huts, but no solution could be arrived at during both the rounds, army sources have said. Diplomatic efforts to diffuse the tensions are also ongoing, said sources.
(with inputs from Devendra Parashar and Manish Prasad)
