Indian Army thwarts fresh attempts by China’s PLA to change status quo at Pangong Tso

at 11:58 pm
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New Delhi (NVI): Escalating military tensions on the Ladakh border with India, Chinese Army made an attempt to change the status quo on the Southern Bank of Pangong Tso Lake along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) but it was thwarted by the Indian Army.

The Indian Army said here today that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) carried out the “provocative military movements” on the intervening night of last Saturday and Sunday.

“On the night of 29/30 August 2020, PLA troops violated the previous consensus arrived at during military and diplomatic engagements during the ongoing standoff in Eastern Ladakh and carried out provocative military movements to change the status quo,” the Indian Army spokesman said in a statement.

“Indian troops pre-empted this PLA activity on the Southern Bank of Pangong Tso Lake, undertook measures to strengthen our positions and thwart Chinese intentions to unilaterally change facts on ground,” the spokesman added.

He asserted that the Indian Army is determined to protect the country’s territorial integrity while remaining committed to maintaining peace and tranquility through dialogue.

A Brigade Commander-level Flag Meeting is in progress at Chushul to resolve the issues, the spokesman said.

The armies of the two countries have been in a face-off situation for last four months, triggered by China’s aggressive actions at multiple points in the Eastern Ladakh sector in early May. On one occasion, the militaries of the two countries engaged in a bloody fight on June 15, in which India lost 20 soldiers, including a Colonel. China also suffered an unspecified number of casualties.

Over these last four months, several rounds of talks have been held at military and diplomatic levels but China has refused to pull back its troops from the friction points, in its attempt to change the status quo at the LAC.