Amid the escalating border tensions between India and China, Beijing has now said that Indian Army soldiers have crossed the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Shenpao mountains near the Pangong Tso Lake and eastern Ladakh and further accused the Indian Army of firing 'warning shots'. A DNA Explainer clarifies the confounding situation unfolding across the border. The Indian Army has also issued a statement of clarification in this regard.
In a statement issued early on Tuesday morning, the Western Theater of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) claimed that India had, while acting provocative, illegally crossed the Line of Actual Control in Shenpao mountain near the south bank of Pangong Tso Lake on Monday. The Chinese side alleged that the warning shots were fired by the Indian Army soldiers after their PLA counterparts "were about to negotiate".
A spokesperson of the PLA's Western Theater Command, Colonel Zhang Shiuli, also said that China has resorted to "countermeasures" after the alleged aggression of the Indian forces.
"The Indian Army again illegally crossed the Line of Actual Control in Shenpao mountain near the south bank of Pangong Tso Lake on Monday," the PLA Western Theater Command spokesperson was quoted as saying by the Chinese state-run news agency Global Times.
"Chinese border defense troops were forced to take countermeasures to stabilize the situation after the Indian troops outrageously fired warning shots to PLA border patrol soldiers who were about to negotiate," added the spokesperson.
China further accused India of severely violated agreements between the two sides and blamed that it is working to increase regional tensions, calling it an act of provocation and this leads to misunderstandings.
Zhang Shuili urged the Indian side to stop this dangerous game immediately and asked the Indian soldiers to return to their border. Along with this, investigate the matter and take action against the soldiers who opened fire so that such an incident does not happen again.
Sources in the Indian Army stated that China resorted to firing in the air to scare their patrol. The Indian Army`s official statement is yet to come.
India and China are engaged in around four-month-long standoff at the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh. Despite several levels of dialogue, there has not been any breakthrough and the deadlock continues.
On June 15, as many as 20 Indian soldiers and an unknown number of Chinese troops were killed in a violent clash in the Galwan Valley.
