NEW DELHI: Eastern Ladakh continues to be a
flashpoint between India and China, with a flag
meeting being held between rival military
commanders on Monday after a troop face-off
at Chumar to the south, while a "civilian
confrontation" persisted in Demchok to the
north.
India has strongly objected to the People's
Liberation Army's attempt to construct a road
leading right up to the Line of Actual Control
(LAC) in the Chumar sector, one of the few
sectors in eastern Ladakh where Indian
positions and supply lines are much better than
the PLA ones, said sources.
China, in turn, is flexing its muscles to stop
Indian civilian workers from constructing a
water irrigation channel under the NREGA
scheme at Demchok for the last one week. Leh
district collector S S Gill told journalists that
the PLA had ferried a large number of Chinese
civilians in its vehicles to the site to scuttle the
ongoing construction work.
The Chinese civilians or graziers from a village
called Toshigang, as per reports, have even
pitched tents in the area.
All this comes just ahead of Chinese President
Xi Jinping's three-day visit to India beginning
from September 17, though the Indian
government sought to downplay the incidents.
Asserting that border issues would be resolved
at the local level, external affairs ministry
spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin on Monday
denied the MEA had been asked to intervene
after Ladakh officials complained that the
Chinese had intruded almost half-a-km into
Indian territory.
However, "unresolved boundary issues will be
addressed," said Akbaruddin, referring to the
bilateral discussions scheduled between PM
Narendra Modi and the Chinese president during
the visit.
But the incident in the Chumar sector, which is
virtually on the Ladakh-Himachal Pradesh
border, seemed quite serious with the PLA
troops outnumbering Indian soldiers by 3:1
during the face-off which began on Sunday.