Indian, Chinese troops in face-off over Ladakh canal
... 50 armed personnel of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army reached there (site of canal) and objected to civilian work being carried out. Almost same number of Indian troops also reached there and sat in front of them...
NEW DELHI: Armed Chinese troops have been marching into Indian territory in Ladakh and stopping the construction of a canal in Demchok area for the last two days even as the National Security Advisors (NSA) of the two nations are set to meet in Hyderabad on Friday.
Demchok lies along the Indo-Chinese border, which is disputed and known as Line of Actual Control (LAC) between the two countries which often leads to ‘face-offs’. Around 300 such incidents happen every year.
The latest stand-off, sources in the security establishment said, started after the Indian administration started building a canal in Hot Springs area (different from Hot Springs in Chashool), which is not very far from Charding area, where Indian civilian administration had tried to build a canal from a nullah under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) scheme in 2014.
“Around 50 armed personnel of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) reached there on Wednesday morning and objected to civilian work being carried out there. Almost same number of Indian troops also reached there and sat in front of them,” a central security official said on condition of anonymity.
“The Chinese troops went back on Wednesday evening and came again on Thursday morning. The work on the canal has A CENTRAL SECURITY OFFICIAL been stopped in the meanwhile,” he said.
The Chinese troops went back on Thursday evening as well but it is still not clear whether they will come back again.
The Chinese are objecting to the fact that they should have been informed about the construction work but Indian side says as per the agreement between the two countries, sharing of information is required only in case of defence related constructions. “It seems that the issue will be resolved through a flag meeting between the two armies,” the official added.
The Indian Army however, stated there was no “incursion”, also said that the issue of construction projects “on both sides” is being sorted out in the Border Personnel Meetings (BPM).
“No Chinese incursion across LAC. Issues relating construction projects on both sides of LAC being resolved in BPM,” the Army’s Northern Command said.
(With agency inputs)