thestringshredder
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NEW DELHI: An unprecedented situation faces the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) troops in Depsang plains along the Sino-Indian border in Ladakh. A set of tents housing Chinese troops and ITBP/Army personnel stand facing each other at RakiNala, around 10 km into what India perceives as the Line of Actual Control (LAC), waiting for inmates on either side to show the first signs of retreat.
The face-off started on April 15, when a set of around 30 Chinese troops made an incursion into the Indian side of the LAC. ITBP personnel manning the nearest Burtse border outpost, who had noticed sorties by two Chinese helicopters just hours earlier, immediately reported the incursion and were told by their commanders to advance a matching Indian contingent to face the Chinese troops.
ITBP did not find the latest incursion unusual, as nearly 400 such incursions by Chinese troops were reported in 2012 and around 100 since January 1 this year. With different perceptions of the LAC on either side the Raki Nala area, according to the Chinese perception, is one km into their side of the LAC such incursions are reported on both the sides. However, as per the laid down norms, each time an incursion is flagged, ITBP/Army troops on the Indian side and the Chinese troops on the other raise banners, which is a signal for the other to retreat. However, unlike normal situations when the troops retreat almost immediately, the Chinese troops this time stayed put, forcing the Indian forces to also deploy a matching contingent. The face-off continued through the day, but as night fell, both the sides retreated. But while the Indian contingent retreated to their Burtse outpost, the Chinese did something unusual. They pitched tents just a little distance away, ensuring a night shelter for the transgressing troops. This was contrary to the Sino-Indian agreement that no permanent structure would be erected on the border.
ITBP troops were shocked to see the Chinese tents the next morning, and a decision was taken, in consultation with the Army and ministry of defence, that a matching Indian contingent will also pitch tents in the same area until the Chinese agree to retreat. However, as the Chinese refused to budge over the next couple of days, a flag meeting was called by the local commanders on April 18. The meeting, where the Indian side comprised representatives from both the Army and ITBP, failed to resolve the standoff, with the Chinese only offering to "revert" on India's request asking them to retreat.
A second flag meeting on Tuesday has also failed to end the face-off. "It may take the intervention of higher-ups in the Army and the government to convince the Chinese troops to step back...this may take a few days," said a senior ITBP official. Officials in the Indian security establishment, however, see no reason to fear an escalation in tension along the India-China border and are confident that the Chinese troops will eventually agree to step back, though deciding the modalities may take a while.
Link - Chinese troops’ refusal to retreat was a unusual gesture - The Times of India
The face-off started on April 15, when a set of around 30 Chinese troops made an incursion into the Indian side of the LAC. ITBP personnel manning the nearest Burtse border outpost, who had noticed sorties by two Chinese helicopters just hours earlier, immediately reported the incursion and were told by their commanders to advance a matching Indian contingent to face the Chinese troops.
ITBP did not find the latest incursion unusual, as nearly 400 such incursions by Chinese troops were reported in 2012 and around 100 since January 1 this year. With different perceptions of the LAC on either side the Raki Nala area, according to the Chinese perception, is one km into their side of the LAC such incursions are reported on both the sides. However, as per the laid down norms, each time an incursion is flagged, ITBP/Army troops on the Indian side and the Chinese troops on the other raise banners, which is a signal for the other to retreat. However, unlike normal situations when the troops retreat almost immediately, the Chinese troops this time stayed put, forcing the Indian forces to also deploy a matching contingent. The face-off continued through the day, but as night fell, both the sides retreated. But while the Indian contingent retreated to their Burtse outpost, the Chinese did something unusual. They pitched tents just a little distance away, ensuring a night shelter for the transgressing troops. This was contrary to the Sino-Indian agreement that no permanent structure would be erected on the border.
ITBP troops were shocked to see the Chinese tents the next morning, and a decision was taken, in consultation with the Army and ministry of defence, that a matching Indian contingent will also pitch tents in the same area until the Chinese agree to retreat. However, as the Chinese refused to budge over the next couple of days, a flag meeting was called by the local commanders on April 18. The meeting, where the Indian side comprised representatives from both the Army and ITBP, failed to resolve the standoff, with the Chinese only offering to "revert" on India's request asking them to retreat.
A second flag meeting on Tuesday has also failed to end the face-off. "It may take the intervention of higher-ups in the Army and the government to convince the Chinese troops to step back...this may take a few days," said a senior ITBP official. Officials in the Indian security establishment, however, see no reason to fear an escalation in tension along the India-China border and are confident that the Chinese troops will eventually agree to step back, though deciding the modalities may take a while.
Link - Chinese troops’ refusal to retreat was a unusual gesture - The Times of India
