NEW DELHI: Army chief Gen Bikram Singh on Thursday briefed defence minister A K Antony on the Chinese incursion issue in Ladakh and the present situation there.
After reviewing the situation in Jammu and Kashmir and the Ladakh area with military commanders in the Northern Command, Gen Singh briefed the defence minister on the incursion issue today, Army officials said.
The Army chief had returned from Jammu and Kashmir yesterday evening after reviewing the situation there with Northern Army Commander Lt Gen K T Parnaik, they said.
The Army has given its inputs to the government and the National Security Advisor-headed China Study Group, which is handling the present situation in Ladakh.
The Army has also given various options to the government on the issue including the aggressive use of military to handle the present situation.
All the options suggested to the China Study Group are being looked at carefully and other stakeholders in the situation have also given their inputs.
The China Study Group is handling the whole issue in consultation with the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) and the defence ministry.
The Army had rushed its troops from the 5 Ladakh Scouts battalion to the DBO area and they are camping there. The force is also considering the option of dispatching additional troops if the need arises.
On April 15, a platoon-strength contingent of China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) had come 10 km inside the Indian territory in Burthe in the DBO sector on the night of April 15 and established a tented post there.
It may be mentioned that earlier Anthony assured of taking all necessary steps to resolve the dispute.
“We are taking every action to protect our interest. … We will take every step to protect our interest,” he told reporters outside Parliament.
Several dozen Chinese soldiers set up a remote camp some 10 km inside Indian territory in the high altitude Himalayan desert of Ladakh.
We are addressing the Chinese incursion matter in an appropriate manner, external affairs minister Salman Khurshid told reporters when asked for his reaction.
In this deep incursion into Indian territory, Chinese troops apparently made inroads into the Daulat Beg Oldi (DBO) sector of eastern Ladakh and erected a tented post there last week. Government sources have already said that India and China are in touch to resolve the issue.
As per reports, a platoon-strength contingent of about 50 troops of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) came 10 km inside Indian territory in Burthe in the DBO sector, which is at an altitude of about 17,000 feet, on the night of April 15.
Troops from Indo-Tibetan Border Police ( ITBP), which mans that stretch of the border, have also established a camp approximately 300 metres opposite the location, the sources said. (PTI)