NEW DELHI: Amid simmering controversy following a Pentagon report on China constructing a village within Arunachal Pradesh, another Chinese enclave has now been detected along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the same state.
“China has constructed a second enclave or cluster of at least 60 buildings in Arunachal Pradesh,” a media channel reported.
This village in the Shi-Yomi district lies 93 km east of another China-constructed village in Arunachal Pradesh. Satellite images show the village did not exist till 2019.
In a recent report, the US Department of Defense had flagged China’s building of a village comprising 100 houses along the LAC in Arunachal. Taking strong note of the report, India’s foreign office had said it does not accept any such illegal construction.
“India has neither accepted such illegal occupation of our territory nor has it accepted the unjustified Chinese claims,” Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Arindam Bagchi had said.
China has been developing integrated Model Villages along the 3,488-km LAC for dual-use so as to double up as an extended cantonment.
Meanwhile, the 23rd meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation & Coordination on India-China Border Affairs was held on Thursday.
The two sides had candid discussions on the developments since the last meeting of Corps Commanders on October 10.
“It was agreed that both sides should hold the next (14th) round of the Senior Commanders meeting at an early date to achieve the objective of complete disengagement from all the friction points along the LAC in the Western Sector in accordance with the existing bilateral agreements and protocols,” the MEA said in a statement.
Ensure stability
The two sides also agreed that both countries should in the interim continue to ensure a stable ground situation and avoid any untoward incident on the Line of Actual Control.
The Indian delegation was led by Additional Secretary (East Asia) from the MEA.