Early Times Report
NEW DELHI, Sept 17: Reports of a fresh Chinese transgression by the Chinese People's Liberation Army in Ladakh came in today as Chinese President Xi Jinping landed in India. In terms of numbers, this is the third. One other has been on at Ladakh's Chumur area, and one in Demchok.
The fresh transgression came as a surprise to the Indian troops too, who had been aware of the other two incidents -- which had been on for a week. Efforts to resolve them have so far been fruitless.
This morning too, a flag meeting between India and China to resolve transgression remained inconclusive. Another one, which started in the evening, is still on. The Indian and Chinese sides were headed by a Brigadier and his PLA equivalent - a Senior Colonel.
On Monday, despite a marathon 12-hour meeting, the Indian and Chinese delegations failed to arrive at a satisfactory result. The border issue is to be one of the key topics of discussion between Mr Xi and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Sources told there were at least 300 Chinese PLA troops in Chumur and around 40 in Demchok. But although the Chinese reduced the number of troops in Chumur yesterday, this morning, an additional 100-odd PLA troops were sent there.
The stand-off started almost a week ago at Chumur, which stands at the intersection of the international border and the Line of Actual Control, the de facto border between the two nations. The Chinese soldiers had brought in in heavy construction equipment and a large labour force to try and build a road up to the border.
India objected strongly, sending troops as close as possible to the disputed site. After five days of deadlock, China sought a flag meeting -- which took place on Monday but remained inconclusive.
Perhaps to divert focus from Chumur, the Chinese side objected to an irrigation canal being built at Demchock about 80 km away and sent hundreds of civilians to protest. The standoff at Demchock, unusually, is now between Indian and Chinese civilians. |
