China hinders patrol across LAC: MEA

Says all Indian activities are entirely on Indian side of the LAC

The India-China border dispute covers the 3,488-km-long Line of Actual Control, the defacto border between the two countries. China claims Arunachal Pradesh as part of southern Tibet while India contests it.

Both sides have been asserting that pending the final resolution of the boundary issue, it is necessary to maintain peace and tranquillity in the border areas.

India on Thursday accused the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) of blocking Indian Army patrols on the Indian side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC). This comes against the backdrop of two separate incidents earlier this month in the Sikkim and Ladakh sectors when Indian and Chinese soldiers had punched each other resulting in injuries to troops on both the sides.

Refuting Chinese allegations that Indian troops had crossed the LAC into Chinese territory, New Delhi said Indian troops had not carried out any activity across the LAC and that any assertion to the contrary was incorrect. India also declared it would ensure its security but added it was firmly committed to peace in the border areas with China. It said both sides were in talks with each other.

The incident in north Sikkim had taken place on May 9 while that in eastern Ladakh had taken place on the intervening night of May 5-6. In both incidents, aggressive Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) patrols were stopped by Indian troops inside Indian territory that China claims as its own.

It may be recalled that New Delhi had recently said that occasionally such incidents do occur as both sides do not have a common perception of the LAC.

In a statement, the ministry of external affairs on Thursday said the Chinese side had “recently undertaken activity” that resulted in “hindering normal patrolling patterns” of Indian security forces.

The MEA further said that Indian troops “scrupulously abide by the alignment” of the LAC and that “all Indian activities are entirely on the Indian side of the LAC”.

New Delhi also said it has “always taken a very responsible approach towards border management”, it is “at the same time deeply committed to ensuring India’s sovereignty and security”.

It added that “both sides remain engaged with each other to address any immediate issues” and that the “Indian side remains firmly committed to work for the common objective of maintenance of peace and tranquillity in border areas” which “is an essential prerequisite to the further development of Indian-China bilateral relations”.

Meanwhile, China on Thursday dismissed as “nonsense” a senior US diplomat’s remarks blaming it for using constant aggression on the border with India to try to change the status quo and said consultations were going on through diplomatic channels between Beijing and New Delhi, which has “nothing to do” with Washington. Responding to a question on the flareup of border tensions between India and China, Alice G Wells, the senior US diplomat for South and Central Asia, on Wednesday described Beijing’s aggression as “not always rhetorical” and accused it of continuing with its “provocative and disturbing behaviour” to try to shift the status quo.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told a media briefing that China’s position on the China-India boundary issue is consistent and clear.