NEW DELHI (INDIA) – A senior government official said on Tuesday that Indian troops were deployed on four strategic hilltops near the de-facto border with China in the Himalayas. This comes after what New Delhi termed an attempted Chinese incursion along the disputed frontier.
Beijing denied crossing the Line of Actual Control, the de-facto border, and an embassy spokesperson in New Delhi blamed Indian troops for trespassing and conducting “flagrant provocations”.
Indian and Chinese troops have been engaged in a border stand-off for months in the western Himalayan region of Ladakh. For more than a century, the two Asian giants have disputed the frontier course.
The Indian troops were deployed in response to an attempt by Chinese infantry to march through a mountain pass late on Saturday.
“We mobilised and occupied the four heights,” the official said, adding that the four peaks were on the Indian side of the border.
The official said the Chinese soldiers were supported by armoured vehicles and engaged in a verbal spat with Indian troops.
The incident occurred on the southern bank of the Pangong Tso lake in the frigid, arid landscape where troops of both sides are in a hostile position since April.
The Chinese have been consolidating positions on the northern bank of the lake, said the official.
(Photos syndicated via Reuters)
This story has been edited by BH staff and is published from a syndicated field.