Defence Minister, Rajnath Singh on Wednesday said that India and China failed to arrive at a “meaningful solution” during several rounds of talks between the military and diplomatic heads from both sides, reported ANI.
He reiterated that dialogue with Beijing will continue, but “India will not tolerate anything that hurts its self-respect”. “Being soft does not mean that anyone can attack our pride and we sit and watch silently,” Singh said.
“It is true that in order to reduce the standoff between India and China, talks were taking place on a military and diplomatic level,” the defence minister told the news agency in an interview. “But no success has been achieved so far. There will be a next round of talks on a military level, which can take place anytime. But no meaningful outcome has come [so far] and there is status quo.”
Also Read : Clashes break out near gunfight site in Srinagar
India and China had on December 18 agreed to continue working towards ensuring complete disengagement of soldiers along the Line of Actual Control.
Singh said that for as long as the status quo does not change, India will not consider reducing the number of troops deployed along the border. “There will be no reduction in our deployment and I feel their [China’s] deployment will also not come down,” he added. “I don’t think that status-quo is a positive development at all.”
However, India was hopeful that the multiple round of talks, which have been underway, would eventually yield a positive outcome, the defence minister said.
