India on Friday categorically rejected China’s claims that the deadly Galwan Valley clash incident took place because Indian forces encroached upon China’s territory illegally and asked Beijing to work towards early resolution of the remaining issues along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh while fully abiding by bilateral agreements and protocols.

The Ministry of external affairs rejected the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson’s recent comment that ‘Galwan Valley incident took place because India violated all the treaties and agreements and encroached upon China’s territory illegally and crossed the line’.

The MEA stated that China’s aggressive behavior and unilateral attempts to alter the status quo in eastern Ladakh disturbed peace between the two countries. The government said that Chinese actions in eastern Ladakh impacted the bilateral relations between India and China.

“We reject such statements. Our position with regard to developments last year along the LAC in Eastern Ladakh has been clear and consistent. It was the provocative behavior and unilateral attempts of the Chinese side to alter status quo in contravention of all our bilateral agreements that resulted in serious disturbance of peace and tranquility,” the MEA said.

“This has also impacted the bilateral relations. As emphasized by EAM in his meeting with Chinese FM earlier this month, it is our expectation that the Chinese side will work towards early resolution of the remaining issues along the LAC in Eastern Ladakh while fully abiding by bilateral agreements and protocols,” the MEA said in its statement.

The Indian Army lost 20 soldiers at the Galwan Valley while fighting the Chinese at the Line of Actual Control on the intervening night of June 15-16 in 2020.

For months, China had not officially commented on the casualties on its side, however, several media reports that the People’s Liberation Army lost around 35-40 soldiers in the Galwan clash