Indian Army refutes China's claim on firing near Pangong Tso: 'PLA troops fired in air'

Amid the standoff at the LAC between India and China, an incident of firing took place on Monday on the Line of Actual Control in Eastern Ladakh sector where the troops of the Indian Army and the Chinese PLA have been engaged in a stand-off for over three months, ANI quoting its sources said on Tuesday.

The Indian Army in its official statement on Tuesday said that while India is committed to disengagement and de-escalating the situation on the LAC, "China continues to undertake provocative activities to escalate." Denying China's claim, the Army said that at "no stage has the Indian Army transgressed across the LAC or resorted to using any aggressive means, including firing."

Indian Army's official statement

"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. 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," the Army said in its statement.

"The Indian Army is committed to maintaining peace and tranquillity, 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 Army added.

'India again illegally crossed the LAC': China

Earlier, the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) mouthpiece Global Times claimed that the Indian troops "again illegally crossed the Line of Actual Control (LAC) on Monday and outrageously fired warning shots on Chinese border patrol soldiers who were about to negotiate." A Chinese military spokesperson added that the Chinese troops were "forced to take countermeasures to stabilize the situation."

"The Indian troops crossed the LAC at the west section of the China-India border, into the Shenpao mountain region near the south bank of Pangong Tso Lake," said Senior Colonel Zhang Shuili, a spokesperson of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Western Theater Command, in a statement.

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"The Indian side's move seriously violated related agreements reached by both sides, stirred up tensions in the region, and would easily cause misunderstandings and misjudgments, which is a serious military provocation and is very vile in nature," the spokesperson said.

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"We demand the Indian side to immediately stop dangerous moves, withdraw personnel who crossed the LAC at once, strictly control frontline troops, seriously investigate and punish the person who fired the provocative shot and ensure similar incidents won't take place again," Zhang added.

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India-China LAC faceoff 

Tensions flared in eastern Ladakh after China unsuccessfully attempted to occupy Indian territory in the Southern Bank of Pangong lake last week when the two sides were engaged in diplomatic and military talks to resolve the festering border row. India occupied a number of strategic heights on the southern bank of Pangong lake and strengthened its presence in Finger 2 and Finger 3 areas in the region to thwart any Chinese actions. China has strongly objected to India's move.

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