The Indian Army on Tuesday rubbished China’s claim of firing by its troops along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and said that the PLA troops attempted to close-in on one of India’s forward positions on September 7. The Army, in its statement, said that the Indian troops never crossed the LAC despite provocation from the other side.
“In the instant case on 07 September, it was China’s PLA troops who were attempting to close-in with one of our forward positions along the LAC and when dissuaded by own troops, PLA troops fired a few rounds in the air in an attempt to intimidate own troops,” the statement said.
“Despite grave provocation, own troops exercised great restraint and behaved in a mature and responsible manner. We are committed to maintaining peace and tranquility, however are also determined to protect national integrity and sovereignty at all costs,” the Indian Army said.
The Army’s statement has come in response to an article by China’s Global Times which claimed that the Indian troops had crossed the Line of Actual Control in Shenpao mountain near the south bank of Pangong Tso Lake on Monday. .
“Chinese border defence troops were forced to take countermeasures to stabilise the situation after Indian troops outrageously fired warning shots to PLA border patrol soldiers who were about to negotiate, PLA Western Theater Command spokesperson said,” the report stated.
Meanwhile, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar described the situation at the Ladakh border as ‘very serious’. The minister’s statement came ahead of his xpected talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on the sidelines of SCO meeting in Moscow.
Tensions escalated manifold along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh after the Galwan Valley clashes on June 15 in which 20 Indian Army personnel were killed in the line of duty. The Chinese side also suffered casualties but it is yet to give out the details. According to an American intelligence report, the number of casualties on the Chinese side was 35, news agency PTI reported.
