NEW DELHI: On a day Prime Minister Narendra Modi referred to the LAC clash, saying India wants peace but could give a fitting reply when provoked, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar spoke to his Chinese counterpart. The talks are welcome but bilateral agreements with China on border peace need to be revisited as the Chinese have not been following them with sincerity, Ambassador Sujan Chinoy, Director General of the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, told StratNews Global Editor-in-Chief Nitin A. Gokhale. Under pressure, China is trying to signal its combat-readiness to its domestic as well as international audience, he said. Lt. Gen. SL Narasimhan (Retd), member of the National Security Advisory Board, who joined in the conversation, is of the belief that incidents along the LAC should be looked at as a bilateral territorial issue. He hopes that the ongoing mechanisms to de-escalate the standoff will yield results. “But if push comes to shove, Indian Army can hold its own”.
