China objects to ‘ transgression’ in Arunachal
Kibithu: In yet another incident of discord, the Chinese military in March strongly protested against what it called the Indian Army’s transgressions into the strategically sensitive Asaphila area along the disputed border in Arunachal Pradesh, but the Indian side roundly dismissed the complaint, official sources said. They said the Chinese side raised the issue at a ‘ Border Personnel Meeting’ ( BPM) on March 15.
In a fresh incident of friction, the Chinese military last month strongly protested against the Indian Army’s “transgression” into the strategically sensitive Asaphila area along the disputed border in Arunachal Pradesh, but the Indian side roundly rejected the complaint, official sources said.
The sources said the Chinese side raised the issue at a Border Personnel Meeting ( BPM) on March 15 here but the Indian Army dismissed it, saying that the area in the upper Subansiri region of Arunachal
Pradesh belongs to India and it has regularly been carrying out patrols there.
The sources said that the Chinese side called India’s patrolling in the area a “transgression” and the Indian Army objected to the terminology.
“China’s protest to our patrolling in Asaphila is surprising,” said a source, adding there were several instances of Chinese intrusions in the area which had been taken up seriously by the Indian side in the past.
Under the BPM mechanism, the two sides can register their protest over any incident of transgression as there are varying perceptions about the Line of Actual Control ( LAC) between the two countries.
The delegation of China’s Peoples Liberation Army specifically mentioned extensive patrolling in Asaphila by Indian troops, saying such “violations” may escalate tensions between the two sides in the area.
However, rejecting the Chinese protest, the Indian side said its troops were aware of the alignment of the LAC and the Army would continue to carry out patrols up to the LAC, the de facto border between the two countries. Perceptions of the border in the area between India and China are vastly different.
The sources said the Chinese military specifically mentioned largescale Indian patrolling in Asaphila near Fishtail 1 on December 21, 22 and 23 last.
Indian and Chinese troops hold BPMs to resolve issues triggering tensions along the border.
There are five BPM points along the LAC at Bum La and Kibithu in Arunachal Pradesh, Daulat Beg Oldi and Chushul in Ladakh, and Nathu La in Sikkim. The BPM on March 15 had taken place at the Daimai post on the Chinese side in the Kibithu area.
At the BPM, the Chinese also accused the Indian side of damaging its road building equipment when a road laying party left its gear in Tuting in December last year following a protest by India. The Indian Army rejected the allegation, the sources said. The Chinese road building team had crossed into Indian territory, about 1 km inside the Line of Actual Control in the Tuting area, in the last week of December.