Even as Chinese President Xi Jinping was romancing Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the banks of the Sabarmati River in Ahmedabad on Wednesday, Chinese troops made yet another transgression into the Indian territory in Ladakh in one of the worst face-offs with Indian soldiers in several years.
More than 1,000 Chinese troops reportedly entered almost 4 to 5 kilometers inside Indian territory in Chumur in Ladakh early on Wednesday, and continued their aggression in the sensitive region.
The Chinese President started off his three-day trip on Wednesday on a good note with three key MoUs including a multi-billion dollar pact for industrial parks, but the meeting with Modi in Delhi today will be on a more serious tangent, with the incursion issue likely to be raised.
A flag meeting in Ladakh is also expected today, after a 12-hour long flag meeting on Wednesday proved inconclusive. India's External Affairs and Defence ministries have already engaged in serious talks with their counterparts in Beijing over the unprecedented stand-off.
This is just the latest incursion by China along the porous LAC border, and Chinese civilians have also begun intruding into the Indian side and obstructing work on an irrigation project.
The Chinese soldiers have been camping in Chumur and Demchok regions of Ladakh for several days now, and have reportedly brought heavy construction equipment and labour force to build a road up to the border, which India has objected strongly to.
While Modi's red-carpet welcome to his Chinese counterpart shows he has business on his mind as China is expected to invest in railways and infrastructure, he came for much criticism for ignoring the situation along the border that has become increasingly tense over the last few months.
This year alone, Chinese transgressions have reached 334 between January and August, compared to 411 violations in the whole of 2013 and 426 in 2012.
List of Agreements signed today between India & China in Ahmedabad pic.twitter.com/TVpia3MfBK
— Syed Akbaruddin (@MEAIndia) September 17, 2014
