Chinese Troops now claim Ladakh; Enter 25 km into Indian Territory

New Delhi/

, Aug 19: Set aside the positive bilateral relations between

and India, the Chinese troops have started infiltrating in the Indian territory yet again. This time they have entered 25 to 30 km deep into Indian territory in Burtse area of North

, officials sources said.

This is the very place where they had established their tents last year, which led to a tense 3-week stand-off.

The Chiese troops were first noticed by a patrol of Indian troops on when the latter were moving from their base towards the higher 'New Patrol base' post in Burtse, which is at an altitude of 17,000 feet.

Going 1.5 km further from their base, the Indian troops spotted the Chinese personnel 25-30 kilometers inside the Line of Actual Control. Complying to the newly-drafted Standard Operating Procedures, the Indian troops returned to their base.

The very next day, another patrolling troop from the Indian side found that ther Chinese counterpart had not budged. The quick reaction team that had accompanied the Indian troops failed to make any progress. This is when they returned to the base and informed the seniors.

Denying any such incident was Udhampur-based Army Spokesperson Col S D Goswami who said,"There are areas along the border where India and China have differing perception of LAC. Due to both sides undertaking patrolling upto their respective perception of the LAC, transgressions do occur. However, no incursion or encroachment of Indian Territory by China has taken place along the India-China border."

He further informed that India regularly takes up any such transgression during flag meetings, border personnel meetings and normal diplomatic channels like Working Mechanism on Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs. This is what resolved the previous stand-off between the two countries.

However, satellite imagery show that tents may have been built in that area as they did last year so that they moved deeper into the Indian territory.The Chinese, on the other hand are claiming that the Depsang plain is part of their territory as it gives them a tactical advantage over the area including the air field which was operationalised by the Indian Air Force last year for a short while.

OneIndia News