India raises detention of nationals by PLA at flag meeting with China

Against backdrop of incursions, India and China held flag meeting in Ladakh where Indian side raised concerns over detention of its nationals by the People`s Liberation Army (PLA).

New Delhi: Against the backdrop of recent incursions by the Chinese troops, India and China on Saturday held a flag meeting in eastern Ladakh where the Indian side is understood to have raised concerns over detention of its nationals by the People`s Liberation Army (PLA). The flag meeting has come after a recent incident where PLA troops had apprehended five Indian nationals in the Chumar area and took them to their camp across the LAC in an apparent bid to stake their claim on the area.

The flag meeting was held at a designated meeting place in Eastern Ladakh where the two sides discussed the issues faced by them and sought to address them under the existing mechanisms, sources said here. After the two countries signed the Border Defence Cooperation Agreement(BDCA) in Beijing, they have agreed to resolve their issues under the mechanisms provided by the new pact aiming to prevent flare-ups between their troops. In one of the incidents after the signing of the BDCA, the Chinese troops apprehended five Indian nationals from the Indian side of the LAC and they were handed back after efforts were made under the existing border mechanisms between the two countries. Defence Minister AK Antony had recently warned that the new border pact does not guarantee that nothing will happen in these areas in future. Chumar has been one of the most active areas on the LAC in terms of transgressions by the Chinese troops. Located 300 km from Leh, it has always been an area of discomfort for the Chinese troops as this is the only place along the China-India border where they do not have any direct access to the LAC.