Mansarovar: China stops yatra alleging ‘incursion by India’
China on Tuesday lodged protests in Beijing and New Delhi against Indian soldiers’ “trespassing” into its territory and indicated the Mansarovar Yatra would remain suspended till India “withdrew” its troops.
The Chinese ministry of foreign affairs made it clear it would leverage the annual Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, a major confidence-building measure between the two neighbours, in the standoff along the LAC in Sikkim.
“As to the Indian pilgrims’ journey through Nathu La pass in the Sikkim section, I think our stand is very clear about it. For a long time, the Chinese government has made enormous efforts to provide necessary convenience for those Indian pilgrims. But recently, the Indian border personnel trespassed the Chinese border to obstruct construction so we have taken necessary actions,” ministry spokesperson Lu Kang said on Tuesday. China had put the pilgrimage on hold out of security concerns, he added.
A few days ago, China didn’t allow a batch of Indians to go through the pass on way to Mount Kailash, held sacred by the Buddhists, Hindus and Jains. They were to cross over on June 19 but failed to do so due to bad weather and had to wait at base camp. Four days later, China denied entry to them citing damage to roads.
Earlier in a statement, the ministry accused the Indian military of incursion into its territory along the LAC and obstructing its personnel from carrying out routine work. It also said because of the trouble in the area, Beijing suspended the 21-day pilgrimage through Nathu La.
Inaugurated in June 2015, the Nathu La route — administered by the Tibet Autonomous Region government on the Chinese side — cut short the trekking time, allowing pilgrims to make the journey on bus. Till then, every year, 18 batches of 60 Indians undertook the journey through the Lipu Lekh pass in Uttarkhand, close to Nepal border. The route, which is still operational, is tougher.