NEW DELHI
In another flare up near the Line of Actual Control, Chinese soldiers tried to close in on Indian positions on the South Bank of Ladakh's Pangong Lake and fired shots in the air, India said, accusing Beijing of trying to mislead their domestic and international audience.
The Army asserted that at no stage had Indian soldiers crossed the LAC or resorted to any aggressive means. Indian troops recently gained tactical advantage by occupying heights in the region, thwarting Chinese attempts to unilaterally alter the LAC. Sources say the Indian Army continues to hold ground after many provocations by the Chinese army in their attempt to move in on these heights. Some 7,000 Indian soldiers are at the spot and tanks have also been deployed after last night's incident.
According to information, the Indian Army has laid barbed wire around the peak which it has occupied, so as to prevent the Chinese army from coming closer. In the last meeting held with Chinese authorities, it was conveyed from the Indian side that if China tries to repeat the Galwan Valley like incident again, the Indian Army won't sit silent.
According to reports, Chinese Army were spotted at the general area near the LAC with rods and sharp-edge weapons on Monday night. Armed Chinese soldiers were spotted at some post of LAC. Shocked and disturbed by the action and alert Indian Army, China has been continuously making failed attempts to infiltrate Indian territory.
The use of firearms along the LAC marks a serious escalation in border tensions as the previous instance of shots being fired at the de-facto border was in 1975.
India and China exchanged accusations just four days after Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his Chinese counterpart Gen. Wei Fenghe held talks in Moscow on ways to ease tensions at the border. They met last Friday on the sidelines of a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meet.
