China said on Tuesday it had made “severe representations” to the Indian government after Indian troops allegedly crossed the Royal Line of Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh and warning shots to the Chinese border staff on Monday.
“Through diplomatic and military channels, we have made stern steps asking the Indian side to stop its dangerous actions, immediately withdraw the people who crossed the line and discipline the front-line troops and those who fired the fire. warning and make sure no similar incidents happen again, ”Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said at the ministry’s regular briefing on Tuesday.
The Indian army has already dismissed the accusations, first made by the Western Theater Command (WAC) of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), early Tuesday morning.
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The WAC statement said Chinese troops had to take “countermeasures” after Indian border troops fired warning shots on Monday near the mountainous Shenpao region, near the southern shore of Pangong Tso.
In a statement released Tuesday, the Indian army said its troops exercised “great restraint and behaved in a mature and responsible manner” despite serious provocation from Chinese troops who fired shots to intimidate Indian troops.
“It is the People’s Liberation Army that has openly violated the agreements and carried out aggressive maneuvers, while the commitment at the military, diplomatic and political level is ongoing,” the statement from the Indian army said.
“At no time has the Indian Army transgressed through LAC or resorted to the use of any aggressive means, including fire,” the statement said.
In Beijing, however, the Foreign Ministry continued to blame the Indian side for the new round of escalating border tension underway at Lake Pangong near LAC.
Zhao alleged that it was the Indian army that fired first.
“I also want to emphasize that in this incident, the Indian side fired first at the Chinese border troops,” Zhao said.
“It is the first time since 1975 that the tranquility is interrupted by the shots. And the Chinese side always emphasizes that both sides should peacefully resolve our differences through dialogue and consultation. The confrontation will not benefit either, “added the spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
When asked to explain what “countermeasures” the Chinese troops took, Zhao said, “Currently, I have no further information for you.”
Responding to a question on whether the two sides could return to the April status quo, he said Beijing hoped that the troop withdrawal would soon be achieved.
“You have a good wish and we all hope that our troops can return to their camp area and there will be no more fighting in the border areas. You know that the place has very bad natural conditions and is over 4000 meters high. In winter, it is not good for humans to live, ”he said.
“Therefore, we hope that through diplomatic and military channels and consultations on the ground, we can achieve disengagement as soon as possible and reach a consensus,” Zhao said.
In a statement issued in Mandarin and tweeted by state media, WAC spokesman Colonel Zhang Shuili said early Tuesday that China’s border defense troops were forced to take countermeasures to stabilize the situation after troops of Indian soldiers “scandalously fired warning shots at PLA border patrol soldiers who were about to negotiate.”
“During the operation, the Indian army blatantly shot and threatened patrol personnel of the Chinese border defense forces who had made representations before, and the Chinese border defense forces were forced to take countermeasures to stabilize the situation on the ground.” Zhang said in the statement.
“The measure by the Indian side seriously violated related agreements reached by both parties, caused tensions in the region and would easily cause misunderstandings and misjudgments, which is a serious military provocation and is very vile in nature,” the spokesman said.
Indian and Chinese troops are embroiled in a bitter confrontation in various locations in eastern Ladakh.
Tensions flared again in the region after China unsuccessfully tried to occupy Indian territory on the southern shore of Pangong Tso Lake last week when the two sides engaged in diplomatic and military talks to resolve the border dispute.
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Tension between the two sides escalated after violent clashes in the Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh on June 15 in which 20 members of the Indian army were killed. The Chinese side also suffered casualties, but has not yet released details.
The increase in border tension comes days before a planned meeting between Foreign Minister S Jaishankar and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, on the sidelines of a meeting of foreign ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Moscow on September 10.
On Monday, Jaishankar said that the failure to comply with several understandings on border management dating back to 1993 raised “very important questions” about the state of ties with China.
“If peace and tranquility on the border is not a fact, then it cannot be that the rest of the relationship continues on the same basis, because clearly peace and tranquility is the basis of the relationship,” he said while participating in an online interaction. organized by The Indian Express newspaper on the occasion of the launch of his book ‘The India Way’.
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