Amid continuing transgression by China at Demchok in eastern Ladakh, the Armies of India and China held a ceremonial Border Personal Meeting to mark India’s Independence Day.
The meeting was held at Chushul-Moldo and Daulat Beg Oldie. The Indian delegations were led by Brigadier V.K. Purohit and Colonel Anil Kumar Sharma, and the Chinese delegations by Senior Colonel Wang Jun Xian and Lieutenant Colonel Li Ming Ju.
However, not far from the venues, a stand-off has been going on in Demchok since early July when Chinese troops intruded 300 metres into Indian territory and pitched tents. Official sources said a group of Chinese soldiers entered the area, in the garb of nomads, and pitched five tents. However, four tents were removed within days, after India opened discussions between border commanders under the existing mechanisms.
One tent is still there, and the discussions are continuing, an official source said. The incident comes a year after the 73-days stand-off at the Doklam trijunction.
Transgressions are common along the unsettled Line of Actual Control.
The two countries have instituted several mechanisms to resolve such issues.
However, according to government figures, the number of transgressions by the People’s Liberation Army into Indian territory has gone up from 272 in 2016 to 426 in 2017.