India confirms brief scuffle with Chinese troops in Ladakh, says "such incidents not in interest of either side"

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New Delhi: The Indian government on Friday confirmed reports of a brief scuffle between Indian and Chinese troops near Pangong Lake in Ladakh, saying "the incident indeed did take place". 

"Today, I can confirm that there was an incident at Pangong Tso on August 15," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said during the weekly media briefing. 

"This was subsequently discussed by the local army commanders of the two sides. We feel that such incidents are not in the interest of either side. We should maintain peace and tranquillity," he said. 

The Chinese soldiers are said to have attempted to cross the Line of Actual Control near Pangong lake but were stopped by Indian soldiers.

The incident took place on the morning of Indian Independence Day, August 15. 

According to sources, there were heated exchange of words and a standoff between the troops of both sides continued for more than an hour, during which stone-pelting was also reported.

"There was an altercation near the Pangong lake," said a police officer in Srinagar, the capital of India`s Jammu and Kashmir state, under which the area falls. An army source in Srinagar also spoke of an altercation following what he called a Chinese army "incursion in Pangong lake area".

A source in New Delhi told Reuters, Chinese soldiers carried iron rods and stones. Both sides suffered from minor injuries.

The scuffle reportedly lasted for 30 minutes. 

After a brief standoff, the Chinese troops went back, the sources added.

Asked whether the issue was taken up at a Border Personnel Meeting (BPM) between the two sides, Kumar said details of such meetings were not shared, but added: "There were two BPMs which were held recently. One was at Nathu La and the other one was at Chusul." 

While the one at Chusul in Ladakh was held on August 16, the one at Nathu La in Sikkim sector was held a week before that. 

He said that BPMs were an established mechanism for border management between India and China, and were a part of confidence building measures between the two countries to ensure peace and tranquillity.

(With Agency inputs)