Even though the Doklam standoff at the India-China border in Sikkim ended amicably, with the nations withdrawing their troops, things still seem to be a tad tense between the two. China, on Thursday, December 6, said that an Indian drone "invaded" the Chinese airspace and crashed.
Beijing then went on to say that the People's Liberation Army had identified and conducted a verification of the drone. "India's move has infringed upon China's territorial sovereignty, and we are strongly dissatisfied with and opposed to this," Xinhua quoted Zhang Shuili, deputy head of the combat bureau of the Western Theater Command's joint staff department, as saying.
"We will fulfill our mission and responsibility and defend China's national sovereignty and security resolutely."
However, details on when and where the drone entered China's airspace is yet to be made available. The report also doesn't speak of the make and markings on the UAV. The "intrusion" comes days before Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi's December 11 visit to India, where such issues along with the Doklam standoff is likely to be discussed.
It has also been reported earlier that PLA was slowly starting to increase the number of troops at the border and Beijing has once again started working on its roads and upgrading and widening the existing routes. Even though India had clarified that there was nothing alarming taking place in the region and that there were "no new developments" at the "face-off site and its vicinity," the matter is likely to come up during Wang's visit.
"We have seen recent reports on Doklam. There are no new developments at the face-off site and its vicinity since the August 28 disengagement. The status quo prevails in this area. Any suggestion to the contrary is incorrect," Raveesh Kumar, spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, had earlier said.
Meanwhile, China is also said to be helping Pakistan build permanent bunkers near the Rajasthan and Gujarat border. Images of these bunkers have been accessed by Aaj Tak and pictures show these structures being built in the region. About 350 of such bunkers have already been built and they are not very easy to locate as these structures have been erected using stones that cannot be spotted easily.
And it looks like the defence officials are aware of these China-Pakistan-made bunkers as sources told India Today that Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has already visited these areas quite a few times to study the situation and see how prepared the forces are to handle an emergency.
Apart from the bunkers, Pakistan has also reportedly been building defence canals, swamps, and roads, which is a threat to India. Not just that, several officials have also said that the India-Pakistan border has also witnessed an increase in the number of Chinese troops deployed.
China itself is not far behind. Beijing has already built two airports adjacent to India and is constructing two more. It already has an airbase near Rajasthan's Jaisalmer district and is also constructing another near Barmer, reported the daily.
