Japan supports India's version of events in the deadly high-altitude clash last June 15 at the disputed Galwan Valley in India's Ladakh province that led to the deaths of 20 Indian Army "jawans" and at least 40 men of the People's Liberation Army Ground Force (PLAGF).

This statement of support came on Friday, the same day Indian prime minister Narendra Modi paid a surprise visit to Ladakh to affirm India's commitment to defend the LAC. Modi demanded China withdraw from the territory it seized on June 15.

On Friday, Japanese ambassador to India Satoshi Suzuki conveyed Tokyo's support for New Delhi. He said Japan is opposed to any unilateral action to change the status quo along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) separating India and China. Suzuki made this comment after a conversation with Indian foreign secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla.

Suzuki was referring to China, which since June 15 has seized several square kilometers of territory at the mouth of the Galwan valley. The Indian Army said the Chinese are bent on defending the territory they illegally seized at Galwan and the nearby Pangong Tso lake. China has continuously claimed ownership of the entire Galwan Valley, which lies on the Indian side of the LAC.

Since the nocturnal clash on June 15, the Indian Army has strongly reinforced its positions in Ladakh and along the LAC. Residents have reported long lines of military trucks carrying troops, equipment and artillery on the roads leading to the Galwan valley. Fighter Jets of the Indian Air Force from the airbase at Leh are conducting more air patrols over the LAC.

"We now have a good strength present in the area," said a ranking officer the Indian Army's Northern Command.

In his Ladakh visit, Modi blamed China's obsolete expansionist mindset for triggering the clash.

"The era of expansionism is over. This is the era of development," declared Modi to Indian Army jawans stationed at Nimoo, which is some 240 km from the Galwan Valley where the June 15 fight took place.

Modi said in the last century, examples are rife of countries that adopted an expansionist attitude and threatened world peace but were eventually either destroyed or had to beat an ignominious retreat.

He said countries across the world are united against expansionism and oriented towards an age of development and open competition.

Midi then declared China's withdrawal from Galwan is the only guarantor of peace.

"The situation cannot be normal unless China withdraws from the Indian territory," asserted Modi.