E-Paper
To improve ties, India and China hold meet at Daulat Beg Oldie
For the first time ever, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) on Saturday hosted an Indian Army delegation in the Daulat Beg Oldie (DBO) area along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh sector of Jammu and Kashmir.
For the first time ever, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) on Saturday hosted an Indian Army delegation in the Daulat Beg Oldie (DBO) area along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh sector of Jammu and Kashmir.
“The BPM at DBO is a milestone in the India-China relations at the level of border troops. The PLA hosted an Indian army delegation for the first time in the area of Daulat Beg Oldie. The Indian delegation was led by Col BS Uppal while colonel Song Zhoanli led the Chinese delegation, “said defence spokesperson colonel SD Goswami.
The BPM was also held in the Chushul sector in the Chinese territory at Moldo Garrison in eastern Ladakh. Brigadier JKS Virk led the Indian delegation while senior colonel Chen Zheng Shan represented the Chinese side. Even in Chushul sector both countries had a faceoff in the past. In the Demchock area, the Chinese army had in the past stopped a construction work and was insisting on dismantling the observatory post of the Indian army last year, which was resisted by India. But, the two countries have been holding BPM at this point. The meeting is considered quite significant at the DBO, which is claimed by both India and China and marked by perceptional differences over the border.
An army airfield at DBO was made operational in 2008, after a gap of about four decades. “The BPM was held at point where there was convergence of perception on border. It suggest that both countries have agreed claims of each other and decided to end the conflict,” said a senior army official wishing not to be named.
In April 2013, India had alleged that about 40 troops of the PLA had intruded about 20-km and put up tents in the DBO sector. The Indian troops responded in an equal manner with ITBP putting up tents about 300-metre away from the PLA. The defence spokesperson said both sides interacted in a cordial environment and it reflects the mutual desire to improve relations at functional level at the border.
