New Delhi: A "sizeable number" of Chinese troops have moved into areas in eastern Ladakh which China claimed are its territory and India has taken all necessary steps to deal with the situation, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Tuesday, referring to the nearly month-long high-altitude standoff between the two armies.
Singh said a meeting between senior Indian and Chinese military leaders has been scheduled for June 6 even as he asserted that India is not going to back off from its position.
"Whatever is happening at present... It is true that people of China are on the border. They claim that it is their territory. Our claim is that it is our area. There has been a disagreement over it. A sizeable number of Chinese people have come there. India has done what it needs to do. (Filhaal ki jo ghatna hain, yeh baat sacch hain ki seema par iss samay Cheen ke log bhi (hei)- unka daava hain ki - hamara seema yahan tak hain. Bharat ka yeh daava hain ki hamari seema yahan tak hain)," he said.
"(Usko lekar ek matbhed hua hain. Aur acchi khasi sankhya mein Cheen ke log bhi aa gaye hain. Lekin Bharat ko bhi apni taraf se jo kuch bhi karna chahiye, Bharat ne bhi kiya hain," Singh told a news channel.
Singh's comments were seen as first official confirmation of presence of significant numbers of Chinese troops in the disputed areas which India maintains are on its side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC), the de-facto border between the two countries.
Read:India, China bring in heavy equipment and weaponry to their rear bases near eastern Ladakh
According to reports, significant numbers of Chinese troops have been camping in the Indian side of the LAC in Galwan Valley and Pangong Tso.
The defence minister said China should think about the issue seriously so that it can be resolved soon.
Indian and Chinese troops were engaged in a bitter standoff in several areas along the Line of Actual Control in mountainous eastern Ladakh for close to a month. Both the countries are holding talks at military and diplomatic levels to resolve the dispute.
"The Doklam dispute was resolved through diplomatic and military talks. We have found solutions to similar situations in the past as well. Talks at the military and diplomatic levels were on to resolve the current issue," Singh said.
"India does not hurt pride of any country and at the same time, it does not tolerate any attempt to hurt its own pride," he said, taking about India's long-held policy.