China Demands Withdrawal of Indian Troops that Crossed Border in Ladakh

India and China have deployed thousands of additional troops and military equipment in Ladakh region after first ever violent clash on 15 June, in which 20 Indian soldiers were killed. The physical fight erupted once again on 29 August in Chushul valley of Ladakh region.

A day after physical fighting in the Chushul area, China has accused Indian troops of trespassing across the Line of Actual Control on the southern bank of Pangong Lake, near the Regin Pass in the western sector of the China-India border, and conducted "flagrant provocations" on 31 August.

“(We) urged the Indian side to strictly control and restrain its front line troops, earnestly honour its commitments, immediately stop all the provocative actions, immediately withdraw its troops illegally trespassing (across) the Line of Actual Control,  and immediately stop any actions leading to the escalation and complication of the situation,” Ji Rong, Spokesperson of Chinese Embassy in India said on Tuesday.

The Chinese embassy in New Delhi has made “solemn representations to the Indian side” and asked New Delhi to withdraw all the front line troops which “grossly violated China's territorial sovereignty" and "seriously violated relevant agreements”.

Pangong lake

CC BY-SA 4.0 / Arkadeep Meta / Pangong lake

Rong said the Indian move had worked against efforts made by both sides for a period of time to ease and cool down the situation on the ground.

Earlier on Monday, the Indian Army had claimed that the People's Liberation Army had carried out "provocative military movements" in the eastern Ladakh region, leading to fresh clashes between the troops of China and India during the night on 29-30 August.

The two countries share a 4,057 kilometre border, stretching from Kashmir to Arunachal Pradesh. As the border is loosely demarcated, it has been remained a source of tension between the two countries for decades.