China interfered with patrol: India ....The escalation of tension between the neighbours along the LAC is the most serious since the 2017 Doklam face-off

TT,  22.05.20, New Delhi: India on Thursday rejected China’s claim that Indian troops had crossed the Line of Actual Control (LAC) that resulted in the recent skirmishes in Sikkim and Ladakh, in turn saying that it were the Chinese who had interfered with normal Indian patrolling by engaging in activity in the area.

China had on Tuesday accused the Indian Army of crossing into its territory and blocking its patrols in an attempt to “unilaterally change the status” on the LAC in Sikkim and Ladakh. The recent escalation of tension along the LAC is the most serious since the 2017 Doklam face-off at the India-China-Bhutan tri-junction.

In a statement, China had also asked India to immediately withdraw personnel across the line, restore status quo in relevant areas, restrict frontline troops and observe the co­nsensus reached by the leadership of the two countries and bilateral agreements to maintain peace and tranquility.

“Any suggestion that Indian troops had undertaken activity across the LAC in the Western Sector or the Sikkim sector is not accurate. Indian troops are fully familiar with the alignment of the LAC in the India-China border areas and abide by it scrupulously,” external affairs ministry spokesman Anurag Srivastava said.

Further, according to him, all Indian activities are entirely on the Indian side of the LAC. “In fact, it is the Chinese side that has recently undertaken activity hindering India’s normal patrolling patterns. The Indian side has always taken a very responsible approach towards border management. At the same time, we are deeply committed to ensuring India’s sovereignty and security.”

India, too, referred to the bilateral agreements and protocols to resolve situations that arise due to difference in perception of the LAC, adding that there are mechanisms in place to resolve such situations peacefully through dialogue.

According to the Indian Army, there have been two face-offs — near Pangong So in eastern Ladakh and at Naku La in Sikkim — between the two troops, resulting in injuries to 76 Indian soldiers.