China dismisses report of transgression into Indian territory, calls it 'routine patrol'

China has dismissed reports that its army transgressed into the Indian territory in August. China said that it always operates on its side of the Line of Actual Control as agreed upon by both countries. 

Responding to questions over reports that the Chinese military crossed the LAC three times in a month into the Indian territory, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Geng Shuang said: "Chinese border troops always operate on the Chinese side of the Line of Actual Control in compliance with the relevant agreements reached between the two countries. What I have learnt is that the Chinese side was carrying out routine patrol on the Chinese territory."

The spokesperson also said that President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have met several times during which important consensus has been reached on properly managing differences and disputes and jointly maintaining peace and tranquillity in the border areas. 

"China and India also have well-established communication and meeting mechanism for border-related affairs. What's happened in the border areas could be dealt with through this mechanism. Resorting to the media to heat things up will not help control disputes," Shuang added.

There had been reports earlier this month that the Chinese Army transgressed into the Indian territory in Uttarakhand thrice in August. As per a report in news agency ANI, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) transgressed the LAC and crossed over as far as four kilometres into the Indian Territory in Barahoti village in the Chamoli district of the state.

Similar incidents occurred in July 2017 when Chinese troops ventured up to a kilometre into Indian Territory in Barahoti. This area also witnessed aerial transgressions and infiltration by foot patrols in 2013 and 2014.

LAC is a 4,057-km porous border between India and China and runs through glaciers, snow deserts, mountains and rivers. It is divided into three sectors viz the Northern, Middle and Eastern sectors starting from the state of Jammu and Kashmir to the eastern state of Arunachal Pradesh. The issue of the borders remains disputed as the Chinese perception differs from the position of the borders as claimed by India.

The number of transgressions by the Chinese Army into the Indian territory rose to 426 in 2017 from the 273 in 2016, according to official figures.

The reports of intrusion came nearly a year after Indian and Chinese troops were locked in a 73-day standoff in Doklam. The face-off had started on June 16 and ended on August 28, 2017 when the Chinese stopped building road in the disputed trijunction of the Doklam shared between India, China and Bhutan.