Chinese Troops Make Two Incursion Attempts in Ladakh

LEH / NEW DELHI: Chinese troops have reportedly made two incursion attempts in the last three days in Demchok and Chumar areas of Ladakh sector in Jammu and Kashmir but were pushed back into their territory by Indian security personnel.

The incursion bids by the Chinese People's Liberation (PLA) came even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping emphasised on the need to find a solution to the Boundary Question during their meeting in Fortaleza in Brazil yesterday on the sidelines of the BRICS summit.

The latest incident occurred in Charding Nilu Nullah Junction (CNNJ) in Demchok sector yesterday when PLA personnel entered the area on their vehicles in the wee hours claiming it to be Chinese territory, official sources said today.

The PLA soldiers who wanted to have a round of the area were stopped by the Indian army and personnel of Indo Tibetan Border Police(ITBP), a force which guards the India-China border.

After a 30-minute long stand-off followed by a banner drill where armies of both the countries warned each other against moving a step forward, the Chinese PLA returned to their side, the sources said.

The Chinese troops, riding on horses, had earlier entered through Chumar area on July 13 only to be confronted by Indian soldiers and after the usual banner drill between the two sides, the PLA patrol returned to their territory.

The incident took place at Patrol Point number 62, the sources said.

Located 300 km east of Leh, Chumar has been an epicentre of heightened activities of the PLA who had been making increased attempts to enter through this region as India has a dominance in this sector.

Chumar, a remote village on Ladakh-Himachal Pradesh border, has been an issue for Chinese which claim it to be its own territory and have been frequenting it with helicopter incursions almost every year. In 2011, it dropped some of the soldiers of PLA in this region and dismantled the makeshift storage tents of the Army and ITBP.

This area is not accessible from the Chinese side whereas the Indian side have a road almost to the last point on which the army can carry a load upto nine tonnes.

Chumar had become a flash point during the fortnight long stand-off last year in Daulat Beg Oldie (DBO) last year as the Chinese side had objected to overhead bunkers erected by the Indian side.

As part of an agreement reached at the flag meeting to end the stand-off from April-May 2013 at DBO, India had to dismantle some overhead bunkers in Chumar.

Again, Chumar witnessed Chinese troops walking away with an Army surveillance camera on June 17 last year which was meant for keeping an eye on the PLA troops patrolling there. The same camera was returned after a few days.

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