China warns Indian media for sensationalising reports of incursion in Ladakh but troops stay put

New Delhi: After Chinese Army intruded almost 19 kms into India from Ladakh region, an alert has been sounded along the Sino-Indian border, especially in Arunachal Pradesh. China has blocked Indian security forces’ access to three of the five patrol points in the Depsang plains in Ladakh. 

The entry of Chinese troops into the strategically important Daulat Beg Oldi area has prompted anxiety that Beijing might resort to similar moves elsewhere in the country. 

An official said that there are two areas where there could be challenges – one or two places in Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim, one place in Uttarkhand. Therefore, though no movement has been observed in the areas, the officials are vigilant. 

Forward areas in northern Lohit district are said to be ‘highly unlikely’ to be under threat from incursions but Tawang is considered to be ‘vulnerable’, the official added. 

Another area of concern is the Kibithu area in Anjaw district of Arunachal Pradesh. It is a spot best known for Dong, where the sun rises first in India and the access to patrol parties that India always wants ensured. 

Sources in the security forces said that contrary to reports that patrolling has stopped in eastern Ladakh, patrol plans and patterns keep changing and the same is true for the Northeast as well. Advisories for heightened vigil have been sent, said the source. 

Though Chinese continue to deny acknowledging an incursion, it is believed that China now wants a quick settlement of border dispute with India, an issue which has been hanging fire since 1962 border war. The timing of Chinese incursion, coming before the visit of Premier Li’s visit to India, is expected to give Beijing an upper hand when the border issue is brought up next time. 

The 4,057 km-long Line of Actual Control has created friction between the two neighbours since 1962 as both countries dispute each others’ territorial claims. Efforts to reach settlement in entirety have proved futile till now.

China warns Indian media for sensationalising reports of incursion in Ladakh but troops stay put

Bhaskar News | May 03, 2013, Beijing: China has warned India that it would aptly answer the provocation by the Indian side perpetuated by the media. 

Chinese communist party owned Global Times editorial advised Indian media to be patient and let the issue resolved through diplomatic channels. “Indian media and opposition politicians have been reporting that Chinese soldiers intruded on Indian-claimed territory and erected tents inside Indian borders,” the editorial said. 

“There have been discrepancies between the two concerning the exact position of the Line of Actual Control (LAC),” indirectly referring to China’s stand that its troops have not crossed the LAC. “Troops from both sides patrol around their claimed border lines, but both try to avoid causing any real frictions,” it said. 

China urged the government to come clear on the Indian media’s hyped reports of incursion and inform the reality to the people of both sides. 

The border row created by incursion of People’s Liberation Army troops 19 kms inside the Line of Actual Control into the Indian side finally seems to have start affecting Beijing as foreign ministry of communist regime refused to confirm the scheduled visit of Union External Affairs minister Salman Khurshid second time in a week. 

China’s ambiguity on the visit comes amid the escalating border tensions between the two neighbours apparently caused by PLA’s move of setting a military post inside the Indian territory. China denies that it violated the territorial sovereignty of Indian and has from beginning maintained that its troops were patrolling the Chinese side of the unfenced border in Daulat Beg Oldi sector in Ladakh.