The incursion took place in June in Demchok, the same place where Indian and Chinese troops faced-off when Xi and Modi met in late 2014.
New Delhi: Posing as graziers, Chinese security forces intruded about 500 metres into Demchok area in southeastern Ladakh and pitched five tents before leaving the area in June, sources in the defence ministry told ThePrint.
Officials said that the latest incursion began in June, exactly a year after the Doklam stand-off between Indian and Chinese troops. Chinese graziers, suspected to be security forces in plain clothes, crossed over into Indian territory, pitched five tents and left behind one.
The area — Cherdung Nullah grazing grounds — is located southeast of the Tso Moriri Lake. Local administration officials have complained that over the years Chinese have “nibbled away” at the Indian territory.
Also read: Parliament panel report confirms ThePrint exclusive on China amassing troops near Doklam
There was a stand-off and after a meeting between senior officials of the two sides the Chinese “mostly withdrew”, said a defence ministry source. But there was a stand-off between the Chinese and Indian forces for two weeks. Indian forces of both the ITBP and the Army are involved in patrolling the zone currently.
What is significant about the latest “incursion” is the timing and the place. Demchok is where Indian and Chinese troops faced-off when Xi Jinping and Narendra Modi met in late 2014, shortly after the new NDA government had taken over.
This time, the incursion has been reported when Beijing has confirmed that its defence minister General Wei Fenghe will be visiting India soon.
India’s eastern army commander, Lt. Gen. Abhay Krishna, is scheduled to lead a high-level military delegation to Beijing this week.
As reported by ThePrint, the Indian and Chinese militaries are currently on a now-on-now-off talk mode. The two militaries also revived the talks of establishing a telephone hotline between them in order to resolve border disputes such as the one currently in Demchok.
Also read: This is the first official account of the India-China face-off in Doklam