CHINA TOPIX

11/02/2024 01:32:56 pm

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China, India Downplays Chinese Intrusion Into Indian Territory

China and India admitted on Monday that Chinese herdsmen had trespassed into Indian territory, but sought to allay border dispute concerns, and said that the issue had been amicably resolved in a flag meeting.

China's Foreign Ministry released a statement announcing that the issue had been resolved through a border meeting in response to media queries on reports of Chinese herdsmen crossing over the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and entering the Indian region of Ladakh.

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The Ministry stressed that both countries were mindful of maintaining peace in the border and cited Beijing's commitment to work with India to preserve peace in the area.

Likewise, Indian Home Minister Rahnath Singth sought to downplay the incident, saying that the Chinese agreed to go back within their territories after a flag meeting.

According to daily broadsheet Dna, the herdsmen had crossed the LAC at the Charding Nilu Nullah Junction on July 25.

Shortly after, the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) met with the Indian patrolling squad on site. Commanders from both sides held a flag meeting, after which the Chinese had acquiesced to move back the herdsmen a day after.

In an effort to highlight the relations between the two countries, China's Foreign Ministry cited the meeting between President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier this month. Both leaders had pledged to maintain peace while it worked on a negotiated solution to its border dispute.

It called the consensus a "positive and forward-looking" framework that would serve to strengthen bilateral trust. Beijing declared its commitment to actively push for a mutually acceptable solution to the dispute at an early date.

Meanwhile, Indian defense expert Uday Bhaskar said it was likely such situations would continue to happen in the future. He said that unless a definitive boundary has been set, both sides would continue to test the other's presence, citing recent reports of PLA troops entering Indian territories but also noted that India's guards have done the same in Chinese-claimed lands.

Former wing commander Praful Bakshi warned against a major Chinese intrusion that was likely to happen in the coming months, Zeenews India reported.

He said China was simply biding its time while it gathered information and assessed India's preparedness to defend against a Chinese invasion.

He called on the government to strengthen its defenses in the border and suggested that border defense and patrol be handed over to its army.

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