Never occupied an inch of other country's territory: China on fresh skirmish with Indian troops at LAC

China on Tuesday (September) reiterated that it never provoked any war and its troops never crossed the line in the backdrop of fresh skirmish with the Indian troops at the Line of Actual Control in the southern bank of the Pangong Tso and near the Reqin Pass in the western sector of border.

NEW DELHI: China on Tuesday (September 1, 2020) reiterated that it never provoked any war and its troops never crossed the line in the backdrop of the fresh skirmish with the Indian troops in the southern bank of the Pangong Tso and near the Reqin Pass in the western sector near the Line of Actual Control.

Hua Chunying, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson, said, “China never provoked any war or conflict and never occupied an inch of other country's territory. China border troops never crossed the line. Perhaps there are some communication issues.”

“I think both sides should stick to facts and have goodwill in maintaining the bilateral relations and take concrete measures to safeguard peace, tranquillity along the border,” the Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson added.

The remarks from the high-ranking Chinese Foreign Ministry officials came several hours after the Indian troops thwarted China`s alleged attempt to transgress in Ladakh. The Chinese Embassy in India also issued a statement, claiming that the Indian troops "illegally trespassed" the Line of Actual Control (LAC) which "damaged" peace and tranquillity along the border."

“On August 31, Indian troops violated the consensus reached in previous multi-level engagements and negotiations between China and India, illegally trespassed the Line of Actual Control again at the southern bank of the Pangong Tso and near the Reqin Pass in the western sector of China-India border, and conducted flagrant provocations, which again stirred tension in the border areas," Ji Rong, spokesperson of Chinese Embassy in India, said in a statement.

India`s move has grossly violated China`s territorial sovereignty, seriously violated relevant agreements, protocols and important consensus reached between the two countries, and severely damaged peace and tranquillity along the China-India border areas," she added.

The spokesperson said China has made solemn representations to the Indian side and urged the latter to "stop any actions" which could further escalate the situation at the border.

"China has made solemn representations to the Indian side..., and immediately (should) withdraw its troops illegally trespassing the Line of Actual Control and immediately stop any actions leading to the escalation and complication of the situation," she said.

Earlier Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said the boundary between India and China has not yet been demarcated and "so there have been problems," according to state-run Global Times.

The Indian Army has thwarted an attempt by the Chinese Army to transgress into Indian areas near the southern bank of Pangong Tso near Chushul in Ladakh on the intervening night of Saturday and Sunday and talks are being held now to resolve the issue there, an Army spokesperson said on Monday.

"On the night of August 29-30, People`s Liberation Army troops violated the previous consensus arrived at during military and diplomatic engagements during the ongoing standoff in Eastern Ladakh and carried out provocative military movements to change the status quo," said Army spokesperson Colonel Aman Anand in a statement.

The Indian Army took measures to strengthen its position and "and thwart Chinese intentions to unilaterally change facts on the ground".

India and China are engaged in a standoff since April-May over the transgressions by the Chinese Army in multiple areas including Finger area, Galwan valley, Hot springs and Kongrung Nala.

The talks between the two sides have been going on for the last three months including five Lieutenant general-level talks but have failed to yield any results, so far.