China had accused Indian soldiers last night of firing warning shots into the air during a clash.
New Delhi:
China tried to get closer to Indian positions and fired shots into the air, India said today, accusing Beijing of trying to mislead its national and international audience with its statements claiming otherwise since last night. In a statement, the Army also stated that at no time did the Indian soldiers cross the Royal Line of Control (LAC) or resort to any aggressive means, including fire. The new confrontation took place in Rechin La, south of Pangong Lake. Sources say that the Indian military continues to hold ground in the region after many provocations by the Chinese military. Some 7,000 Indian soldiers are at the scene and tanks have also been deployed after last night’s incident.
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“It is the PLA that has openly violated the accords and carried out aggressive maneuvers, while engagement at the military, diplomatic and political level is in progress,” India said, accusing the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) of yet another provocation after a series of attempts at Pangong Lake over the past two weeks.
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On Monday, according to the statement, Chinese troops were attempting to approach an Indian outpost along LAC. “It was the PLA troops who were trying to get close to one of our forward positions along the LAC and when the troops themselves deterred them, the PLA troops fired a few rounds into the air in an attempt to intimidate the troops themselves. Grave provocation, our troops exercised great restraint and behaved in a mature and responsible manner, ”said the Army.
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China had accused Indian soldiers last night of firing warning shots into the air during a clash. He also claimed that Chinese troops took “countermeasures.” Zhang Shuili, spokesman for the army’s western command theater, said in a statement: “We request the Indian side to immediately stop the dangerous actions … and strictly investigate and punish the personnel who shot to ensure that similar incidents do not occur again. “.
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India said that while it is committed to disengaging and reducing the situation in LAC, China continues to engage in provocative activities to escalate. “The Indian Army is committed to maintaining peace and tranquility, yet it is also determined to protect national integrity and sovereignty at all costs. The Western Theater Command’s statement is an attempt to mislead its national audience. and international, “said the Army.
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The latest incident came three days after Defense Minister Rajnath Singh held talks with his Chinese counterpart, Wei Fenghe, on the sidelines of a meeting in Moscow and agreed to ease tensions.
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There have been at least two incidents of Chinese provocation in Pangong Tso, a glacial lake at 14,000 feet, on August 29 and 31. India said the Chinese tried to change the status quo from a new area, the South Bank of Pangong.
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India was able to “prevent these attempts to unilaterally alter the status quo” in LAC, the government said, stressing that there were no physical confrontations.
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The previous incident on August 31 was a daytime operation during which Indian soldiers were surrounded by Chinese soldiers, who were trying to regain the heights that are being dominated by the Indian army. The sources said Chinese soldiers were warned not to proceed and Chinese military commanders were asked to withdraw to avoid any escalation.
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Tension between the countries peaked when 20 Indian soldiers died for the country in a clash with the Chinese on June 15. China also suffered casualties but never confirmed any figures.
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In July, following talks between national security adviser Ajit Doval and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, India and China had started the disengagement process, which, however, remained incomplete.
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