New Delhi: In the wake of recent face-off at the LAC in Ladakh, Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju today made it clear that incursions by Chinese Army were unacceptable but said security forces should refrain from “misadventure” to prevent escalation of any tension on border.
Talking to reporters on the sidelines of a function here, Rijiju, while referring to recent incursion of Chinese PLA in Ladakh, said, “These incidents are happening. But we are very, very clear this time that we will not accept any kind of their (Chinese) intrusion into our territory and we will not concede. This is something we are not going to accept.”
While making it clear that India wanted a peaceful atmosphere along the 4,056-km LAC with China, the minister, who hails from Arunachal Pradesh, said, “But we are very firm about our position and we should not let our territory or our perceived territory to go into the hands of the other side.
“We are very clear on that. This should not be construed as we being too aggressive or trying to destabilise the situation along the border.” He said some of the areas along the Sino-Indian border are not very well demarcated and Indian forces “go to the very point and Chinese PLA also come and sometime cross the area which India sees as its territory”.
Rijiju, at the same time, said security forces would not carry out any kind of “misadventure” or get into confrontation which will lead to unnecessary strains in ties or escalate tension in the border areas.
He was replying to queries about repeated incursions by Chinese troops in Ladakh especially when India was hosting Chinese President Xi Jinping in Delhi.
Rijiju said there was nothing “aggressive” about Indian security forces as some of the areas along the Sino-Indian border were not very well demarcated. Indian forces “go to the very point and Chinese PLA also come and sometime cross the area which India sees as its territory.
“But if they (Chinese) carry out any construction activity in our territory or in our perceived territory, then we have to stop them. That is why this tension goes along. We are very particular about our concerns and we stand by that,” he said.
The Indo-Tibetan Border Police, which comes under Home Ministry, guards the Sino-India border.
Tension in the area erupted two weeks ago when some Chinese workers, who were constructing a road on their side, crossed into the Indian side and also claimed that they had orders to build a road up to Tible, 5 km deep inside Indian territory.
The tension started easing out after both sides agreed to withdraw simultaneously from Chumar area. (PTI)