Beijing says no incursion, troops on LAC’s Chinese side

BEIJING: Soldiers from the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) were patrolling the Chinese side of the disputed frontier with India along Arunachal Pradesh, Beijing said

BEIJING: Soldiers from the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) were patrolling the Chinese side of the disputed frontier with India along Arunachal Pradesh, Beijing said on Wednesday, dismissing reports that hundreds of its troops had crossed the border last week.

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Around 250 P LA soldiers reportedly crossed the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Kameng district of Arunachal Pradesh on June 9, reports had quoted unnamed Indian defence officers as saying.

The incursion by Chinese troops was temporary and they went back to their own territory within hours, the reports had said. “The India-China border has not been clearly demarcated. This was a regular patrol on the Chinese side of the LAC ,” foreign ministry spokesperson Lu Kang said.

It is rare for incursions to take place–or at least to be reported–in the eastern sector along Arunachal Pradesh, which China claims and shows on maps as “south Tibet”.

The Indian defence officers said this was the first incursion in the region this year. India and China have an unresolved, heavily militarised border running about 3,488 km. Much of the confusion arises, according to diplomats and experts, because the border is not delineated, leading to competing claims.

China’ s foreign ministry reiterated the same point while dismissing the reported incursion.