India’s Lt General Harinder Singh is slated to meet his Chinese counterpart on June 6 as part of efforts to sort out the weeks-long row along the LAC, said Lt Gen (Retired) SL Narasimhan, a China expert, and now a Member of NSA Advisory Board. It will be the highest level of talks between the two in recent past.
Indian media in all languages is carrying on a jingoistic propaganda on China’s intrusions into Indian borders, almost all along the LAC.
The Indian Army itself on May 31 Sunday rejected a video, which emerged on the social media, purportedly showing clashes between Chinese and Indian troops in eastern Ladakh.
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The video being circulated is fake, PIB said, and mala fide
“The contents of video being circulated are not authenticated. Attempt to link it with the situation on the Northern borders is mala fide,” the Army said in a statement. The Govt info buro, the PIB itself issued a fact-checker that refuted the stories catching headlines.
It said differences between the two sides are being addressed through interaction between military commanders following established protocols on management of border between the two countries.
The undated video purportedly shows clashes between Indian and Chinese troops in the Pangong Tso area in eastern Ladakh. “Currently no violence is happening. Differences are being addressed through interaction between military commanders, guided by established protocols on management of borders between the two countries,” the Army said.
“We strongly condemn attempts to sensationalise issues impacting national security. The media is requested not to air visuals that are likely to vitiate the current situation on the borders,” it added.
The trigger for the face-off was China’s stiff opposition to India laying a key road in the Finger area around the Pangong Tso besides construction of another road connecting the Darbuk-Shayok-Daulat Beg Oldie road in Galwan Valley.
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Defence Minister : “differing perceptions of LAC… misinterpreted as if Chinese troops entered Indian side of LAC,”
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on May 30 Saturday said bilateral talks were on at military and diplomatic levels with China to resolve the row.
He was referring to the nearly month-long high-altitude standoff between the two armies.
“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 also come (Aur acchi khasi sankhya mein Cheen ke log bhi aa gaye hain). India has done what it needs to do,” Singh told CNN-News 18 in a video recorded interview, on June 2.
“The Minister was referring to differing perceptions of LAC & presence of Chinese troops. It is being misinterpreted as if Chinese troops entered Indian side of LAC,” said the PIB in a late night tweet on Tuesday June 2.
“Situation along the border is stable and controllable”, says China
Earlier on June 1 Monday, the Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said that the “overall situation along the border is stable and controllable”.
“Between China and India, there are unimpeded channels for border-related communication in diplomatic and military fields. We believe the issues can be properly resolved after bilateral negotiations and consultations,” he said.
China has seriously implemented the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries on the border issue, strictly abided by the agreements signed by the two countries, and is committed to safeguarding the national sovereignty and security of the country and maintaining peace and stability in the border area between China and India, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said at a routine press conference, he explained.
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Modi Discusses Sino-Indian Border Situation With Trump, Expresses Concern on ‘Civil Disturbances’ in US
Trump recently claimed he spoke with PM Modi, had also offered to mediate between India and China, but the Indian government had batted him away, stating that the two neighbours are engaged diplomatically.
There had been no official rebuttal, but Indian sources had pointed out that their last phone call had been on April 4 – a month before Indian and Chinese troops first clashed at the border.
However, it later came out Modi did talk about the border situation, said media reports citing official sources. .
With American cities still racked by protests against police brutality, Prime Minister Narendra Modi did bring up “civil disturbances” in his conversation with US President Donald Trump, but their phone call was dominated by China – with the two leaders discussing the continuing military stand-off between Indian and Chinese soldiers.
While the US readout of the phone call is still awaited, the Indian side has already released a version of the half-hour-long conversation of “exceptional warmth and candour”, which highlights New Delhi’s priorities.
In his tweet on the phone call, Modi did not mention that border issue was explicitly discussed, but the Ministry of External Affairs’ communique listed it among the “topical” subjects that were discussed.
“The two leaders also exchanged views on other topical issues, such as the COVID-19 situation in the two countries, the situation on the India-China border, and the need for reforms in the World Health Organisation,” said the press note.
“No need for US intervention”, says China
China emphasised on June 3 that there was no need for the intervention of a “third party” to resolve its current standoff with India as the two neighbours have full-fledged border-related mechanisms and communication channels to sort out their differences through dialogue.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told a media briefing in Beijing that China’s position on the border issue with India was “consistent and clear” and both the countries have “earnestly” implemented the important consensus reached between their leaders.
Mr Zhao was replying to a question about the phone call between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump on Tuesday during which the two leaders also reportedly discussed the border standoff between India and China.
“We have the capability to resolve the issue through dialogue and negotiation,” Mr Zhao said.
“There is no need for the intervention of a third party,” he emphasised, in what is Beijing’s first official reaction to the discussion between PM Modi and Donald Trump which reportedly also included the India-China boundary tensions, as reported by news agency Press Trust of India.
President Trump last week said he was “ready, willing and able to mediate” between the two countries. “We have informed both India and China that the United States is ready, willing and able to mediate or arbitrate their now raging border dispute,” President Trump said in a tweet last week.
Both India and China have rejected Donald Trump’s offer of mediation.
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Times Now airs old videos during broadcast on recent India-China border tensions
Tensions between India and China escalated after Chinese troops moved into sensitive areas along the Eastern Ladakh border. Times Now aired a broadcast on the skirmish on May 26. “The biggest concern for the Indian army has been the Chinese troops around several key points including the post of KM120 along with the Galwan valley. Times Now accesses the visuals,” read the description of the broadcast on YouTube.
altnews.in, a fact checker website said all the three videos were old, and doctored :
Therefore, all the three videos played by Times Now during a broadcast on India-China tensions were old. While the anchor said that the channel “brings these visuals” for viewers and the YouTube description read the same, disclaimers during the show suggested that all the three videos were file footage.
Tensions between India and China escalated after Chinese troops moved into sensitive areas along the Eastern Ladakh border. Times Now aired a broadcast on the skirmish on May 26.
“The biggest concern for the Indian army has been the Chinese troops around several key points including the post of KM120 along with the Galwan valley. Times Now accesses the visuals,” read the description of the broadcast on YouTube.
During the close to 15-minute show, the channel played three “visuals” of the stand-off on a loop. As it turned out, each of these videos was old and unrelated to the recent border tensions.
However, at a later part, Times Now flashed the word “file” which suggested that the clip does not represent recent events.
A reverse-search of the screengrab after cropping out the texts led us to the same video posted by India Today journalist Shiv Aroor on August 19, 2017. His description also said that the video was shot in Pangong Tso, Ladakh. However, Times Now did not mention that the clip is not recent.
Therefore, all the three videos played by Times Now during a broadcast on India-China tensions were old. While the anchor said that the channel “brings these visuals” for viewers and the YouTube description read the same, disclaimers during the show suggested that all the three videos were file footage.
For full story : https://www.altnews.in/times-now-airs-old-videos-during-broadcast-on-recent-india-china-border-tensions/
Whenever talks are on the anvil, anywhere in the world, forces of jingoism and merchants of death are active, and carry on misinformation.
Now in this era of post-truth, this has become the order of the day. People should be alert to these false stories, oppose jingoism.
Ramakrishnan is a media person
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