Despite the Indian Army busting the PLA’s lies, the Chinese Foreign Ministry on Tuesday maintained that the Indian troops had “illegally crossed” the LAC

Despite the Indian Army busting the PLA’s lies, the Chinese Foreign Ministry on Tuesday maintained that the Indian troops had “illegally crossed” the Line of Actual Control. It reiterated the incredulous claim that the Indian troops fired warning shots at Chinese patrolling troops. Alleging that India had violated bilateral agreements, the Chinese Foreign Ministry termed it as a “serious military provocation”. It called upon the Indian side to stop its purported “dangerous moves” and discipline frontline troops. 

Army Refutes PLA claims

Earlier, People's Liberation Army Western Theatre Command spokesperson Senior Colonel Zhang Shuili accused the Indian troops of crossing the LAC into the Shenpao mountain region near the south bank of Pangong Tso Lake on Monday. He added that the Chinese troops were "forced to take countermeasures to stabilize the situation." According to him, this move had stirred up tensions and would lead to misunderstanding. He demanded the Indian side to "seriously investigate" the firing and ensure that such incidents are not repeated in the future.

Flatly denying the charge, the Indian Army stressed that it had neither transgressed the LAC nor opened fire at any stage. On the contrary, it revealed that the PLA had attempted to close in on one of India's forward positions and opened a few rounds in the air when the Indian troops showed resistance. It said that the troops had exercised great restraint despite this grave provocation and described the Western Theatre Command's statement as an attempt to mislead China's domestic and international audience. 

Rajnath Singh Meets Chinese Counterpart

The LAC faceoff was exacerbated when 20 Indian Army soldiers including a Commanding Officer were martyred in the Galwan Valley on June 15 when the de-escalation process was underway. This was followed by multiple attempts of provocation by the Chinese side at the end of August. In his meeting with Chinese Defence Minister Wei Fenghe in Moscow on September 4, Rajnath Singh noted that the action of the PLA troops was in violation of bilateral agreements.

While emphasising that the Indian Army had taken a very responsible approach towards border management, he reiterated that the troops will leave no stone unturned to protect India's sovereignty and territorial integrity. He requested the Chinese side to work with India to ensure complete disengagement from all friction areas including Pangong Tso and de-escalation in border areas. Furthermore, he said that the Line of Actual Control must be strictly respected.