New Delhi: Indian and Chinese troops indulged in a “face-off” in the eastern sector of the Line of Actual Control last week after the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) was stopped from entering Indian territory in Naku La, Sikkim.
The Army in a statement said there was a minor face-off at Naku La area in North Sikkim on 20 January.
“The same was resolved by local commanders as per established protocols. Media is requested to refrain from overplaying or exaggerating reports which are factually incorrect,” the Army said after reports emerged that several Indian and Chinese troops were injured.
Amid the heightened tensions and stand-off between the two armies in Ladakh, which has been on since May 2020, a PLA patrol team was stopped while entering Indian territory at Naku La, sources in the defence and security establishment said. The Chinese claim Naku La is their territory.
“There was a brief face-off between the two sides,” a source said, adding that certain pushing and jostling took place.
The sources too played down reports of any major clash or injuries, saying pushing and jostling is common when troops come face-to-face in certain areas. They added that no weapons or sticks were used during the face-off.
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Clash in May 2020 too
The area had witnessed a clash in May last year, in which at least 12 Indian and Chinese soldiers were injured in stone-pelting and fist fighting. At that time too, a patrol team of the PLA had been stopped, leading to the clash.
The news of the latest clash comes after India and China held their ninth corps commander-level talks in eastern Ladakh to resolve the tensions. Sunday’s talks lasted for nearly 16.5 hours, and while India and China managed to break the “stalemate”, a breakthrough in carrying out disengagement is yet to be achieved.
India has put its forces along the entire LAC on complete operational alert.
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China is probing here and there to test India’s resolve. In Jinping’s authoritarian rule, PLA does not do anything accidentally. He is the supreme commander of this Communist Army.