Indian troops fend off Chinese incursion bid on Ladakh border

Indian troops foiled two incursion bids by the Chinese in Jammu and Kashmir’s Ladakh region but not before stones were thrown and soldiers injured on both sides on a day India celebrated 70 years of Independence.

Tuesday’s clash near the Pangong Lake, which divides Indian and Chinese territory, comes at a time when the two neighbours are in a standoff thousands of miles away in the disputed Doklam plateau close to Sikkim on India’s northeastern border. The two-month-old row has soured ties between the two sides.

“Indian and Chinese troops came face to face at two places in Finger Four and Finger Five areas near Pangong Lake in Ladakh region,” a government source said.

Finger Four is almost 5km into Indian territory from the line of actual control (LAC), manned by the Indo-Tibetan Border Police.

When Indian troops told the Chinese to retreat, words were exchanged and then a scuffle broke out. “Stones were thrown at each other, resulting in injuries to troops from both sides after which finally the Chinese forces retreated,” the source said.

The nature of injuries and number of soldiers involved could not be confirmed. The troops “disengaged” after an hour and the Chinese patrol went back, sources said.

The incursion bids were made between 6am and 9am.

The ITBP was not available for comments and the army refused to speak on the clash.

The LAC, or the unmarked border, divides Indian and Chinese territories where the boundaries are not clearly defined.

The Pangong area is prone to such face-offs as two-thirds of the lake is under Chinese control. Normally things are brought under control after showing banners to the Chinese side, telling them they are in Indian territory. There, however, have been occasions when the Chinese refused to leave, leading to an impasse, sources said.

Difference of perception over the territory leads to around 400 such skirmishes every year from Ladakh to Arunachal Pradesh.

“If this has indeed happened in Pangong Tso, it is a fallout of the Doklam standoff,” former northern army commander lieutenant general BS Jaswal said.

The best way forward for China would be to not “get into a kinetic option or war” but to create pressure, it could try and occupy vulnerable and disputed areas, Jaswal said.

The Indian Army has moved soldiers and equipment along the eastern sector to fortify its defences amid the Doklam standoff.

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STONES WERE THROWN AT EACH OTHER, RESULTING IN INJURIES TO TROOPS FROM BOTH SIDES AFTER WHICH FINALLY THE CHINESE FORCES RETREATED, A GOVT SOURCE SAID