India downplays Chinese incursion

India will strongly raise the issue of recent incursions by the Chinese army in Ladakh area of Jammu and Kashmir at the next border personnel meeting between the two countries and also at the diplomatic level.

India will strongly raise the issue of recent incursions by the Chinese army in Ladakh area of Jammu and Kashmir at the next border personnel meeting between the two countries and also at the diplomatic level.

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“We will definitely take up the matter with the Chinese during the next flag meeting of border personnel,” a senior Indian army official told HT, requesting anonymity since he was not authorised to speak to the media.

Eastern Army Commander Lt Gen V.K. Singh and Leh-based XIV Corps head Lt Gen S.K. Singh, who along with other senior army officials are currently in China on a “goodwill” visit, would also raise the matter with the Chinese authorities at the highest level, he said.

In his comments on the reported violations of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) by the Chinese troops in Ladakh in June and July this year, External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna sought to play down the issue, saying these incursions were not of any cause of concern for India.

“This (India-China border in Ladakh) is one of the peaceful boundaries that we share with other countries…. There is no problem on that.” There is an inbuilt mechanism to deal with such incidents, he said.

The mechanism followed in such cases is that whenever an incursion takes place from either side, the border personnel of the two countries take it up at their next flag meeting, which is held on a regular basis. As per the India-China 2005 protocol, a flag meeting is to be called within 48 hours of any intrusion. Then it has to be investigated by the country accused of intrusion and the result communicated to the other country within four weeks.