Times of India
Saibal Dasgupta,TNN
September 14, 2015
BEIJING: China said on Monday that there is no stand-off between the People’s Liberation Army and Indian troops on the India-China border as has been reported in the Indian media. It asked the Indian government to clarify the situation.
“As far as I know, there is no such face off in the border area. Chinese troops are performing their duties on the Chinese side of the border,” Hong Lei, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman said at the regular briefing on Monday.
Indian reports said a joint patrol of the Indian Army and Indo-Tibetan Border Police spotted the People’s Liberation Army building a watch-tower close to the mutually-accepted “border patrolling line” near Burtse, which is part of the Depsang plains in the northern part of eastern Ladakh, on Friday. This led to a stand-off as the Indian Army personnel at the spot called for reinforcements.
Hong suggested that the “Indian side can make clarification on this matter in order to maintain peace and tranquility in the area”.
Officials on the two sides adroitly have built a mechanism for cross-border consultation to avoid any dispute among border personnel since the meetings between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping early this year. Questions are being asked if the border consultation mechanism is working on the ground.
Hong seemed to confirm that China may have actually started building the watch tower when he said that his country is entitled to carry out “relevant activities” on its side of the border.
“Chinese border troops are carrying out relevant activities on the Chinese side, and we are committed to maintaining peace and tranquility in the border area,” the ministry spokesman said.
Hong explaining that India-China relations are “enjoying sound momentum” since leaders of the two countries reached an “important consensus for maintaining peace and tranquility in the border areas”.
