Subramanian Swamy told that 'China built Depsang infra under UPA; GoI silent since then'

Amid media reports that India and China have broadly agreed on a three-step process on disengagement of troops and withdrawal of weaponry from all major friction points in a time-bound manner to ease the Ladakh standoff, senior BJP leader Dr Subramanian Swamy has made a massive claim. 

Taking to Twitter, the Rajya Sabha MP said that he asked a national security officer that how could the Chinese PLA build such an "extensive infrastructure" in such a short period in Depsang. To which, according to Swamy, the officer replied by saying that the infrastructure in Depsang "was built from 2005 to 2012 by PLA and UPA kept silent but so did from BJP Govt from 2014 onwards." 

'Need to Check'

The standoff between India and China at Depsang plains—located in north-east Ladakh, close to Daulat Beg Oldi (DBO) airfield—is almost a decade old. It is said that the Chinese have built roads and military infrastructure in their own areas of Depsang plains, and have an inherent advantage for a long time.

India, China on verge of reaching agreement 

The specific proposals for the disengagement and restoration of the status quo ante as existed in April were finalised during the eighth round of high-level military talks between the Indian and Chinese armies in Chushul on November 6 on the Indian side of the Line of Actual Control(LAC).

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PTI quoting authoritative sources said both the Indian Army and the Chinese People's Liberation Army(PLA) are looking at sealing the pact in the next round of Corps Commander-level talks as the proposals were agreed to by the two sides. The ninth round of military talks are likely to take place in the next few days. The standoff between the two sides erupted in early May.

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Meanwhile, the Ministry of External Affairs on Thursday said India and China have agreed to maintain dialogue and communication through military and diplomatic channels to resolve the Ladakh standoff even as it refrained from commenting on reports that the two sides are working on a plan to pull back troops and weapons from the border friction points.

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"When we have something to share, we will share. Discussions are ongoing," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said replying to a volley of questions on whether India and China are working on specific proposals to resolve the over six-month-long row in eastern Ladakh.

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(With agency inputs)