More articles by

Anirudha Karindalam
Anirudha Karindalam

BORDER TENSION

Leave it to Army, says MoS defence Bhamre on India-China skirmish in Ladakh

Kashmir India China Pangong lake in Ladahak. Chinese soldiers allegedly attempted to enter the region near the lake on Tuesday but were confronted by Indian soldiers | AP

After a scuffle broke out between Indian and Chinese soldiers in Ladakh on August 15, Union minister of state for defence Subhash Bhamre said that the situation on the Chinese border was being closely monitored. Said Bhamre to THE WEEK, “We will leave it to the Army. I don’t want to say anything more on it now.” Around 15 Chinese soldiers crossed into the Indian territory on Tuesday and threw stones at the Indian troopers. The Chinese border in Ladakh is jointly patrolled by the Army and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police. Six soldiers from the ITBP suffered injuries. Chinese military officials, today, sought a flag meeting with Indian officials. 

China, on its part, has denied reports of its soldiers entering Indian territory along the banks of the Pangong Lake in Ladakh. 60 per cent of the length of the lake lies in China. The Line of Actual Control passes through the lake. 

Said Hu Chunying, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson, “We are not aware of the information. The Chinese side is committed to peace and tranquility of the China-India border.”

The fight in Ladakh comes at a time when India and China are engaged in a bitter confrontation in Doklam, the India-Bhutan-Tibet tri-junction. The standoff has been continuing for more than 50 days, after Indian troops stopped the Chinese army from constructing a road in the area, as it could allow China to block India’s access to its northeastern states. 

Indian and Chinese troops did not exchange pleasantries on the occasion of Independence Day, as has been the standard since 2005, following an agreement signed between Indian and Chinese officials for important occasions. Apparently, there was no exchange of greetings on August 1, which is the founding day of the Chinese army. 

This browser settings will not support to add bookmarks programmatically. Please press Ctrl+D or change settings to bookmark this page.
Topics : #India-China

Related Reading