India-China border clash: In an unmistakable sign of increased hostilities between the Indian Army and the Chinese Army in high Himalayas in Ladakh region, first shots have been fired between the two armies on Monday after India thwarted Chinese plan to occupy some strategic heights south of Pangong Tso lake last week, according to a report of Global Times.
According to a Chinese military official, the firing took place on Monday near Shenapo mountain in Eastern Ladakh region.
“Indian troops again illegally crossed the Line of Actual Control (LAC) on Monday and outrageously fired warning shots on Chinese border patrol soldiers who were about to negotiate. Chinese troops were forced to take countermeasures to stabilize the situation, a Chinese military spokesperson announced on Tuesday,” Global Times quoted a Chinese military official as saying.
Indian Army is yet to respond to the statement issued by Chinese military but it had earlier confirmed that it took ‘some measures’ to dissuade the Chinese soldiers when China’s People’s Liberation Army tried to take control of strategic heights last week. However, Indian Army has not responded to Chinese PLA’s claims about Monday’s incident.
According to a report of ANI, sources in Indian Army stated that China resorted to firing in air to scare Indian Army’s patrol.
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Gen MM Naravane in Ladakh.
Indian Army thwarts Chinese Army’s to control strategic heights
India recently outflanked China by taking control of some strategic heights near Pangong lake’s southern bank.
The place of incident was also confirmed in the official statement issued by the Chinese PLA.
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“The Indian troops crossed the LAC at the west section of the China-India border, into the Shenpao mountain region near the south bank of Pangong Tso Lake, said Senior Colonel Zhang Shuili, a spokesperson of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Western Theater Command, in a statement,” Global Times reported.
India-China border issue becomes serious
Indian Army and Chinese PLA have been engaged in a tense and bloody face-off in Ladakh region since May this year which also resulted in the death of 20 Indian Army soldiers and unconfirmed number of Chinese soldiers.Monday’s incident demonstrates that the situation has further deteriorated between the two Asian giants despite hectic parleys at military and diplomatic levels.
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Indian Army and Chinese Army started to disengage following the bloody face-off on the night of June 15 after a discussion between India’s National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and China’s foreign minister and state counselor Wang Yi.
Indian Army Chief Gen MM Naravane with Indian soldiers in Ladakh.
In addition to diplomatic talks, both the armies have held five discussions at Lieutenant General level but there is no sign of improvement in the situation on the ground.
Recently India outflanked China by occupying previously unmanned posts in its bid to thwart an attempt by the Chinese army to transgress into Indian areas near the southern bank of Pangong Tso near Chushul in Ladakh.
India used its covert elite unit, also having ethnic Tibetan soldiers, to foil the advance of Chinese PLA in India’s territory.
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India-China situation very serious: MEA
According to a report in Indian Express, India’s foreign minister S. Jaishankar has described the situation between India and China as ‘very serious’. S Jaishankar made these remarks in a programme organised by the news paper in New Delhi.
S Jaishankar is expected to meet Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi during his official visit to Moscow to take part in the foreign ministers meeting of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).
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