New Delhi: Barely 15 days after President Pranab Mukherjee paid a goodwill visit to China, over 250 troops of People’s Liberation Army had intruded the Indian territory in Yangtse sector of Arunachal Pradesh.
The large contingent of Chinese troops came well inside the Indian territory on June 9, sources in the Army told UNI here.
The face-off between the two armies continued for a couple of hours before the intruding troops disengaged to go back to their respective position.
“This is the first incident of transgression in Yangtse sector this year,” the sources said.
The troop deployment in Tawang area by the Indian Army is substantial with a battalion level strength of soldiers guarding the territory.
Incidentally, China was leading the opposition to India’s bid for NSG membership in Vienna on the same day.
Mukherjee had traveled to China from May 24, starting from Guangzhou, an area which is opposite to Arunachal Pradesh.
The incident of transgression has been reported two days after Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said such incidents have come down by 30 to 40 per cent.
The two sides were also in advanced stage of finalisation to set up a hotline between their military headquarters on the level of Director General of Military operations as part of removing misunderstandings on the tactical level.
Both sides were also planning to set up more Border Personnel Meeting posts.
The last major face-off between the two armies was witnessed in the eastern Ladakh sector in September last year, when a joint patrol of the Indian Army and Indo-Tibetan Border Police spotted the People’s Liberation Army building a watch-tower close to the mutually-accepted ‘border patrolling line’ near Burtse, which is part of the Depsang plains. (UNI)
