Chinese troops enter Arunachal. Army stayed for days; Govt mum

Mangaloretoday/DHNS

New Delhi, Aug 21, 2013: Chinese troops transgressed into the Indian territory at least twice in the last two weeks in eastern Arunachal Pradesh where they stayed put in tents for a couple of days before returning to their bases.

The first “transgression” by 20-odd Chinese troops took place in the “fish tail” region, at Chong Loh Gam located at an altitude of 14,000 ft. It is close to Kibithu town in Anjaw district, which lies at the tri-junction of India-China-Myanmar and the last populated town on the Sino-Indian border.

 

The second transgression by the Chinese troops was reported at a nearby high-altitude pass on August 19-20. Both times the Army teams, equipped with long range observational systems (Loros), chanced upon the Chinese intruders.

The establishment in New Delhi, however, remained tight-lipped about the latest intrusions that come three months after the 21-day face-off at Depsang Bulge in eastern Ladakh in April-May. The Indo-Tibetan Border Police and the Army refused to share details.

“Both India and China patrol up to their side of the perceived Line of Actual Control (LAC),” said an Army official. The Army claimed that the ITBP has a post ahead of its own. The ITBP denied having any personnel at the place. The Defence Ministry, too, did not say anything.

“We don’t take up non-events in diplomatic practice. The Army has refuted it,” said Syed Akbaruddin, spokesperson in the Ministry of External Affairs.

Around August 11, at least two groups of Chinese troops that were on long-range patrol duty, entered the Indian side of the LAC. They pitched up tents and stayed for at least a couple of days before returning to their bases.

The place where they came is one of the three major disputed areas in the Sino-Indian boundary in Arunachal Pradesh. Both incidents occurred in eastern Arunachal, which comes under the operational responsibility of the Army’s Rangapahar-based 3 Corps. The two countries have a structured dialogue mechanism to resolve the border dispute. The 16th round of Sino-Indian border talks between National Security Adviser Shiv Shankar Menon and State Counsellor Yang Jiechi was held on June 29.

The prime minister is slated to visit Beijing in the fourth week of October during which the two countries are likely to sign a border defence cooperation agreement that seeks to reduce border tension and flashpoints along the 4,057 km-long unmarked and disputed border. The IAF is reactivating eight advanced landing grounds in Arunachal Pradesh of which at least two—Walong and Vijaynagar—are close to the uninhabited “fish tail” region. The IAF’s workhorse Anatonov-32 carrier landed in Vijaynagar in November 2011, resuming military flights to India’s eastern-most air strip.