China says Indian troops crossed LAC, fired shots
Print Edition
A CHINESE military spokesperson has urged the Indian side to desist from dangerous actions after accusing Indian troops of illegally crossing the Line of Actual Control in the western border region.
Zhang Shuili, spokesperson for the Western Theater Command of the People’s Liberation Army, made the remarks in a statement yesterday after stating that the Indian army again illegally crossed the LAC in Shenpao Mountain area near the southern bank of Pangong Tso lake on Monday.
“The Indian troops brazenly made gunshot threat to the patrolling Chinese border guards who came forward for negotiations, and the Chinese border guards were forced to take countermeasures to stabilize the situation,” said Zhang.
It is first confirmed shooting across the frontier since 1975, where border forces by convention do not use guns to avoid escalations of violence in remote terrain. There was no word of casualties on either side.
The Indian action, which Zhang called “severe military provocation,” seriously violated the consensus reached in previous engagements by China and India, stirred up tensions in the region, and would easily cause misunderstandings and misjudgments, said Zhang in the statement.
Zhang also urged India to stop all provocative actions, “retreat all the troops that trespassed the LAC immediately, regulate the front-line forces,” and “investigate into the personnel who fired arms to provoke the tension (along the border).”
“Western Theater Command will resolutely follow the order and duty, and protect the sovereignty and dignity of China,” Zhang added.
China’s foreign ministry also said Indian troops had illegally crossed the LAC and were the first to fire shots. “This is a serious military provocation,” spokesman Zhao Lijian said yesterday.
“We, the Chinese side, have been stressing repeatedly that the two sides should peacefully settle our differences through dialogue and consultation. Confrontation will not benefit either side,” he said.
Chinese and Indian soldiers recently engaged in one of the most serious border clashes since they fought a war in 1962.
Regarding the tensions in the border area, India’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday said the state of the border with China could not be delinked from the state of the overall relationship with the neighboring country.
Describing the situation as “very serious,” he called for a “very very deep conversation” between the two sides at a political level.
Jaishankar said reconciliation is the top priority on the agenda following the meeting between defense ministers of the two sides on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in Moscow last Friday.
Talking about the Friday’s meeting between Chinese Minister of National Defense Wei Fenghe and his Indian counterpart Rajnath Singh, Zhao said the two sides exchanged views on related issues.
Zhao said that Wei reaffirmed to Singh China’s commitment and ability to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity in the meeting.
Singh stressed the importance of a peaceful border with China, saying both sides should keep the channels of military and diplomatic dialogue open, according to the spokesperson.
Zhao reiterated that the Indian side should make sure that similar incidents like the one on Monday do not happen again, adding that the nature of military provocations is very bad.
“We hope that the two sides can reach an early consensus on disengagement through diplomatic and military channels,” he said.
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