Defending the latest incursion in the Chumar sector in Ladakh by China's People's Liberation Army (PLA), China said on Wednesday that its troops were patrolling on its side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and maintained that both the countries should not change the status quo along the LAC till the final settlement on the disputed region is made.
"I have seen the relevant reports but I am not aware of the specific situation. Chinese Defence forces have been patrolling along the Chinese side of the LAC of the China-India border," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying told reporters on Wednesday when asked about the reports of the intrusion in June.
"The general situation in the border areas is stable. We have the consensus that pending the final settlement of the boundary question none of us (India and China) should change the status quo along the LAC," she added.
She went on to say that China is open for joint efforts with India to safeguard peace and tranquility in the border areas.
The China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) troops reportedly entered Chumar sector on 17 June and vandalized and cut wires of high resolution cameras installed in the areas by the Indian army to check the movement of the Chinese troops. The damaged cameras were returned to the Indian Army on 3 July at a flag meeting in Chusul area after negotiations between the two sides.
The Chinese troops also threatened the locals in Chumar and asked them to vacate the region claiming that it belongs to China.
Tension between the neighbouring countries heated up in April after the Chinese troops allegedly intruded into Depsang, Ladakh. The drama ensued for a few weeks till China withdrew its troops from LAC. India accused Chinese troops of crossing LAC but the latter denied.
The second incursion happened just 10 days before the 16th round of India-China Special Representatives talks involving India's National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon and China's State Councillor Yang Jiechi was held in Beijing. The two-day talk held on 28-29 June was to solve the impending border issue between the countries.
The Special Representatives talk was followed by the visit of Indian Defence Minister AK Antony to China on 4 July (four-day-visit) to discuss varied agendas, including border issues.
India's Defence Minister had said after his visit to Beijing that he was pleased with the talks on the management of the disputed border. He said that a consensus was reached with the military leadership that both the countries would maintain peace and tranquility till they find a solution the border dispute and that the Border Defence Cooperation Agreement (BDCA) would help solve the problem.
India claims that the disputed border area covers about 4000 kilometres while China claims that it covers only 2000 kilometres.
