‘To end LAC stand-off, China must stop erecting new structures’: Indian envoy

China should stop creating obstructions and hindrances in normal patrolling of Indian troops, said New Delhi’s China envoy.

The only way out of the military stand-off between Indian and China at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) would be for Beijing to stop building new structures, Indian envoy to China was quoted as saying by news agency Press Trust of India.

Indian Air Force aircraft carrying out sorties in Leh on Friday. The air activity has gone up in the region after the stand-off with China on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) there. (ANI)

“Only way to resolve military standoff along LAC is for China to stop erecting new structures,” Vikram Misri told PTI.

China should stop creating obstructions and hindrances, the envoy said, in normal patrolling of Indian troops. Misri also rejected China’s claim of sovereignty over Galwan as completely “untenable”, something the government has repeated over time, adding that such exaggerated claims are not going to help the situation.

“China’s attempt to alter status quo on ground can have ‘ripples and repercussions’ in broader bilateral relationship,” the envoy added.

In a strongly worded statement on Thursday, the external affairs ministry squarely blamed China for the violent faceoff at the LAC, saying Beijing had massed troops along the disputed frontier since May, violated a recent understanding to disengage in Galwan Valley and disregarded all mutually agreed norms for border patrols.

Twenty Indian soldiers died in the line of duty fighting Chinese troopers on June 15.