India foils Chinese troops' incursion in Arunachal, briefly detains PLA soldiers

Personnel from the Indian Army temporarily detained a few Chinese troops in Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh after they crossed over from Tibet, highly placed government sources have revealed to News18. According to the sources, the incident in which the Chinese attempted to damage a few unoccupied bunkers at the border pass of Bum La and Yangtse — near the Line of Actual Control — took place last week. A source revealed that the local military commanders resolved the matter and the Chinese troops were subsequently released. Indian soldiers have come out of the incident unscathed and there has been no damage. Meanwhile, on Thursday, Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi in a press interaction said it expected China to work towards an addressing the unresolved issue along the LAC in Eastern Ladakh as soon as possible. When asked about reports of incursions by the Chinese side, Bagchi said he could not comment on that kind of military aspects. “It is our expectation that China will work towards early resolution of the remaining issues along the line of actual control in eastern Ladakh while fully abiding by bilateral agreements and protocols,” Bagchi had said at a media briefing. Last Saturday, Army chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane had expressed concern over the increase in deployment by Chinese troops. He said India had made matching deployments in terms of troops and infrastructure in its areas along the LAC and there was no way anyone would be able to behave in an aggressive manner again. He also said that talks with China over the LAC had been carried out and they were hopeful of having the thirteenth round of talks by the second week of October. He said, “When the talks had started, people were doubtful whether talks would resolve anything, but I am of the firm opinion that we can resolve our differences with dialogue and that is what has happened in the past few months.” Why does China eye Tawang? Tawang located in Arunachal Pradesh has been a friction point for India and China. China claims it to be a region part of Tibet Autonomous Region and during the 1962 War, China had captured Tawang and laid claim on it. In 2017, a former top diplomat from China had said that the border dispute between the two countries could be resolved if New Delhi accepted Beijing’s claim over the strategically vital Tawang region in Arunachal Pradesh, but Indian officials dismissed it as neither practical nor possible.