New Delhi/Beijing: India on Tuesday said Chinese troops attempted to close in on its position in eastern Ladakh a day earlier and fired shots in the air, in a rapid escalation of tensions where firearms were used along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) after 45 years.
The fresh confrontation in Rezang-La ridgeline in eastern Ladakh on Monday evening where the soldiers of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army(PLA) carried clubs and spears erupted three days after the defence ministers of India and China held talks in Moscow, and ahead of an expected meeting between their foreign ministers in the Russian capital on Thursday.
As India and China accused each other of firing in the air near the Pangong lake at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh on Monday, the Indian Army said that despite the “grave provocation” its troops exercised “great restraint” and behaved in a mature and responsible manner.
“In the instant case on September 7, it was the PLA troops who were attempting to close-in with one of our forward positions along the LAC and when dissuaded by own (Indian) troops, PLA troops fired a few rounds in the air in an attempt to intimidate own troops,” the Army said in a statement.
An identical statement was also issued by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
The previous instance of shots being fired at the de-facto border was in 1975. Provisions of an agreement of 1996 and another inked in 2005 mandate the two sides not to use firearms during any confrontation.
The statement by the Indian Army came after the PLA late on Monday night alleged that the Indian troops crossed the LAC and “outrageously fired” warning shots near the Pangong lake.
“At no stage has the Indian Army transgressed across the LAC or resorted to use of any aggressive means, including firing. It is the PLA that has been blatantly violating agreements and carrying out aggressive manoeuvres, while engagement at military, diplomatic and political level is in progress,” the Indian Army said.
Government sources said Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and the top echelons of the government have been apprised about the situation in eastern Ladakh and the Army has been told to maintain the highest level of alert along the LAC in Ladakh.
On Monday evening’s incident, they said Chinese troops carried rods, spears, clubs and pole weapons called ‘Guandao’ in aggressively trying to close in on an Indian position in Mukhpari area of Rezang-La ridgeline.
The sources said around 50-60 soldiers of PLA approached the Indian post in the southern bank of Pangong lake area at around 6 pm but the Indian Army personnel posted there strongly confronted them, forcing their retreat. (PTI)
