S Jaishankar stated that it has been a longstanding practice not to use firearms during faceoffs (File)
New Delhi:
Rahul Gandhi’s comment that Indian soldiers were sent “unarmed to martyrdom” during the brutal clash with China in the Galwan Valley in Ladakh provoked a brutal rebuttal by Foreign Minister S Jaishankar, who said: “Let’s do the facts”.
Troops at the border still carry weapons, said the Minister of Foreign Affairs, but it has been a long-standing practice not to use firearms in confrontations.
“Let us be clear. All the troops at the border are still carrying weapons, especially when they leave the post. The Galwan troops on June 15 have done so. Long-standing practice (in accordance with the 1996 and 2005 agreements) not to use firearms during confrontations, “said Mr. Jaishankar, responding to Rahul Gandhi’s tweet.
The head of Congress tweeted, “How dare China kill our UNARMED soldiers? Why were our soldiers sent UNARMED to martyrdom?”
20 Indian soldiers, including a colonel, were killed in the line of duty Monday evening during the worst confrontation with Chinese soldiers in nearly 50 years. Although Beijing has not given any official figures, army sources say about 45 Chinese soldiers have been killed or injured.
Following the deadly confrontation, the military is reviewing the decades-old rules of engagement with China. The standing instructions for soldiers confronting Chinese troops in a violent confrontation provide that fire will not be opened. However, sources say the military would discuss it after Monday night’s deadly shock to the Galwan River, which began when Indian troops moved to remove a tent set up by Chinese soldiers on the Indian side of the border.
The soldiers were attacked with iron rods, rocks wrapped in barbed wire and studded sticks nearly 15,000 feet in the Himalayas, near the icy Galwan River. Some soldiers fell from a steep ridge into the icy river.
The attack came after weeks of increasing China’s presence along the border, resulting in an impasse in at least four different locations in Ladakh and one in Sikkim.
Currently, a major general of the Indian army is talking to Chinese military officers in the Galwan valley, one day after inconclusive discussions on the confrontation.
