Weeks after the Chinese Army intruded into Ladakh about 14 times, it is now being said that the personnel of the People's Liberation Army entered the Indian territory in Arunachal Pradesh. The incident reportedly took place in the first week of October and troops had entered about 1000 metres into the Dibang Valley.
While villagers of the area said that they had seen the troops on the Indian side, the security personnel have said that this wasn't a transgression and the PLA left as soon as they were told that they were on the Indian territory.
"Due to changing perception of LAC, patrols do go till their perception. However, when the Chinese troops were conveyed, they returned," ANI quoted a security official as saying.
The Indian and the Chinese army are now said to be resolving the issue as per protocol.
While the incident has been played down, it reminds one of the 73-day Doklam standoff between the two nations in Nathu La, Sikkim, that hit headlines in 2017. Earlier in 2018, state-run Chinese daily The Global Post had said that India should be ready for a Doklam-like situation as it had been provoking China for a while now.
Last year too, the PLA is known to have entered Arunachal Pradesh on various occasions. Chinese soldiers had crossed about 200 metres into the Indian Territory in Arunachal Pradesh at the end of December and were stopped by Indian soldiers.
While the incident was first spoken about by locals of the region, security officials later confirmed the incursion and said that Chinese soldiers even brought along materials for road construction, which were then left behind. However, the official clarified that there was "no face-off."
"The Chinese have increased their road construction activities in the area in recent past," the official had told the Hindustan Times. Residents of the region also revealed that the Indian soldiers stopped the Chinese troops near the Bising village and took away their equipment, which also included two excavators.
PLA in Ladakh
Meanwhile, the Indo-Tibetan border police (ITBP) earlier said that the Chinese troops trespassed across the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh 14 times between August 4 and 19.
The incursions, on foot and vehicles, took place in the Daulat Beg Oldie, Depsang, Pangong Tso and Trig Heights areas. Of these, the Depsang region saw the highest number of incursion at six and the People's Liberation Army troops travelled about 18 kilometres into the Indian territory, reported India Today.
The Depsang Plains incursions are said to have taken place on August 4, 12, 13, 17 and 19. Meanwhile, Chinese troops were at the Pangong Tso area on five different days.
It has also been said that the PLA pitched a few tents in the Daulat Beg Oldie area and were removed only after the Indian Army intervened into the matter. However, one tent reportedly remains in the region and China has argued that the tent doesn't belong to them but to the shepherds of the area.
