Brushing aside reports of Chinese troopers venturing 10 km into Indian territory in Jammu and Kashmir recently, India on Monday said it would take all steps to protect its territorial interests.
When asked about the government action on Chinese incursion in Daulat Beg sector of Ladakh on April 15, Defence Minister A K Antony told reporters in the Parliament House complex here that every action was being taken to protect India’s interest.
A platoon-sized force of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) reportedly entered the Indian territory at Burthe in Daulat Beg Oldi sector at an altitude of 17,000 ft along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) to set up a tent for using it as a military post.
India responded by sending a team of Indo-Tibetan Border Police, which also set up a tent near the Chinese post, even as efforts were made to resolve the matter diplomatically. Speaking on the same issue, External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid said:
“We are still in touch and flag meetings are on. More information should come. We will factor all that and then take a final view.”
“We are addressing this issue in an appropriate manner. We just do not want any departure from proportionality,” Khurshid said.
In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying was quoted as calling the intrusions as “speculation” and asserting that the country’s troopers were within their territory.