Hours after China claimed that Indian armed forces fired warning shots in south bank of Pangong Lake in Ladakh, after crossing the Line of Actual Control , the Indian army has rejected Chinese PLA’s claims that its army attempted to transgress into the Chinese territory on Monday night that led to the firing.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, Indian army has said that Chinese PLA has been “blatantly violating agreements and carrying out aggressive manoeuvres”.
“India, while is committed to disengagement and de-escalating the situation on the LAC, China continues to undertake provocative activities to escalate. At no stage has the Indian Army transgressed across the LAC or resorted to use of any aggressive means, including firing,” the statement said.
“It is the PLA that has been blatantly violating agreements and carrying out aggressive manoeuvres, while engagement at military, diplomatic and political level is in progress,” it said.
“In the instant case on 07 September 2020, it was the PLA troops who were attempting to close-in with one of our forward positions along the LAC and when dissuaded by own troops, PLA troops fired a few rounds in the air in an attempt to intimidate own troops. However, despite the grave provocation, own troops exercised great restraint and behaved in a mature and responsible manner,” said the Indian army.
On Monday, reports said that incident took place around 6-7 pm in Ladakh where the troops of both sides were engaged in strife for several months. Earlier, Indian army claimed that tensions escalated on August 29-30 when the Chinese military attempted to “occupy” Indian positions in Ladakh.
The army added that it is committed to maintaining peace and tranquility, however is also determined to protect national integrity and sovereignty at all costs. “
The statement by the Western Theatre Command is an attempt to mislead their domestic and international audience,” the statement mentioned.
