Chinese incursion in Ladakh: India, China armies meet to resolve row

New Delhi: Local military commanders of India and China are holding a flag meeting today in a bid to resolve the situation arising out of the incursion by Chinese troops in Daulat Beg Oldi (DBO) sector in Ladakh. The meeting scheduled at 10:30 am will be held in Daulat Beg Oldi sector, sources said. India raised the issue with China last week immediately after the incident of Chinese incursion came to light. [caption id=“attachment_720769” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  India raised the issue with China last week immediately after the incident of Chinese incursion came to light.[/caption] Apart from summoning the Chinese Ambassador to South Block, the Joint Secretary in MEA, who is heading the India-China joint working mechanism to deal with issues on the boundary from the Indian side, spoke to his counterpart in Beijing last week, emphasising on the need to resolve the issue. Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai had summoned the Chinese Ambassador Wei Wei to South Block and stressed the need for resolving the issue, the sources said. The Chinese side said they will look into the issue and respond accordingly. However, when contacted the Chinese Embassy in New Delhi reiterated the comments made by their Foreign Ministry spokesperson in Beijing yesterday. Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying had said yesterday that “China’s frontier troops have been abiding by the agreement between the two countries and abiding by the LAC agreed by the two countries. “Our frontier troops have been patrolling on the China’s side of LAC”, Hua had said, adding, “Our troops are patrolling on the Chinese side of the LAC and have never trespassed the line“. Chinese Embassy officials maintained that China is ready to work with the Indian side to further the coordination and cooperation on the issues of boundary. A platoon-strength contingent of China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) came 10 km inside the Indian territory in Burthe in DBO sector, which is at an altitude of about 17,000 feet, on the night of April 15 and established a tented post there, according to highly placed sources. Defence Minister AK Antony had said yesterday that India will take “every step” to protect its interests to resolve the situation arising out of the incursion. PTI