Galwan incident will have serious impact on ties: India to China

New Delhi: India on Wednesday delivered a strong message to China that the "unprecedented" incident in the Galwan Valley will have a "serious impact" on the bilateral relationship and held the "pre-meditated" action by Chinese army directly responsible for the violence that left 20 Indian Army personnel dead.

In a telephonic conversation, External Affairs Minister Jaishankar conveyed to his Chinese counterpart Wang Wi India's protest in the "strongest terms" and said the Chinese side should reassess its actions and take corrective steps, the Ministry of External Affairs said.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry, in a statement, said the two sides agreed to "cool down the situation on the ground as soon as possible", and maintain peace and tranquillity in the border area in accordance with the agreement reached so far between the two countries.

Jaishankar also told Wang that the Chinese action reflected an intent to change the facts on ground in violation of all agreements between the two countries to not change the status quo along the Line of Actual Control. It was the first high-level engagement between the two sides after the standoff between the two armies began in eastern Ladakh on May 5 following a violent clash in the Pangong lake area. The clash in Galwan Valley on Monday night is the biggest confrontation between the two militaries after their 1967 clashes in Nathu La in 1967 when India lost around 80 soldiers while over 300 Chinese army personnel were killed.