Chinese troops massing at border: Rajnath Singh

New Delhi: Admitting that China has sent a large number of troops to the Line of Actual Control (LAC), Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday said India hopes to resolve the stand-off through diplomatic and military level talks.

Singh said he was informed by Army Chief MM Naravane that a meeting between Indian and Chinese military leaders will be held on June 6, and expressed confidence that the issue will be settled peacefully, according to News18 report.

"This has happened before too and a solution was found," he said, referring to the 73-day Doklam stand-off of 2017. Refusing to ascribe any motives to China's actions at the LAC in eastern Ladakh in the middle of a pandemic, Singh said it would be wrong to speculate or express doubts when talks are already underway. He said he would have definitely said something were talks not being held.

"They (the Chinese leadership) have also said they want to solve the dispute through dialogue," he said. The Indian and Chinese troops are involved in a face-off at three points in the Galwan Valley and at one point at Pangong Tso in Ladakh, with both sides sending reinforcements to bolster their positions.

Northern Army Commander Lieutenant General YK Joshi on Tuesday also reached Ladakh to review the situation amid growing tensions.

The defence minister said that India has also sent a large number of troops to match the Chinese deployment, and assured that the government would not let anyone hurt India's self-respect.

He did not answer or confirm when asked if China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) has entered Indian territory. Reports from Eastern Ladakh and Satellite imagery indicate that Chinese troops have intruded into what India believes is its territory in Galwan and Pangong Tso.

China has moved up its forces along the Line of Actual Control with India, United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Monday, asserting that authoritarian regimes take these kinds of actions.

"We see even today increasing forces of China moved up to the north of India on the Line of Actual Control there on the Indian border," Pompeo told Marc Thiessen and Danielle Pletka of AEI's 'What The Hell Is Going On' Podcast.