New Delhi: An undated video of Indian troops challenging a group of Chinese soldiers and clashing with them in the Pangong Lake area of Ladakh emerged Sunday.

But the Army said it was not authenticated and attempts to link it with the tension along the Line of Actual Control were malafide.

The 2-minutes-and-45-seconds video, which has been accessed by ThePrint, shows Indian security personnel challenging a group of Chinese soldiers who had brought in their Dongfeng 4×4 vehicle too.

The Indian soldiers can be seen hitting the windows of the vehicle with rods and stones in an attempt to intimidate the Chinese. The windows of the vehicle clearly appear bullet proof as they do not break.

The Indian personnel are seen not carrying any weapons. Both ITBP and the Army jointly patrol along the Line of Actual Control.

They are carrying polypropylene shields with “Police” written on them to protect themselves from the Chinese stone pelting.

There are shouts of “Bharat Mata ki Jai” as the Chinese troops retreat.

One soldier can be seen lying down injured, but his identity is not ascertained.

But the Army said the video was not authenticated.

“It has been brought to our notice that a video is doing the rounds in social media on an incident on the borders. The contents of video being circulated are not authenticated. Attempt to link it with the situation on the Northern borders is malafide,” the Army said in a statement.

“Currently no violence is happening,” it added.

The statement said differences are being addressed through interaction between military commanders, guided by established protocols on management of borders between the two countries.

“We strongly condemn attempts to sensationalise issues impacting national security. The media is requested not to air visuals that are likely to vitiate the current situation on the borders.”

In August 2017, a video had emerged just days after the troops from both sides clashed in the Pangong Lake area.

Indian Army wants status quo

As reported by ThePrint on 10 May, there was a clash between Indian and Chinese troops on the banks of the Pangong Lake on 5 May in which several soldiers from both sides were injured.

The first move came from the Chinese who attacked Indian personnel with stones and sticks. Taken aback by the sudden attack, the Indian soldiers also hit back.

However, several of the Indian soldiers suffered injuries with many head wounds due to stone pelting.

Though official disengagement did take place, more troops were rushed to the location.

The situation in eastern Ladakh has since been tense with China building up troops at various locations on their side of the LAC even as they transgressed in the Finger Area as well as larger Hot Springs area.

The Chinese diverted troops from a military exercise that was being held on their side and moved soldiers to forward locations in the Galwan Valley.

Indians have also done counter deployment and as reported by ThePrint earlier, there is a face off in at least four locations.

Even though the Chinese have now spoken about “resolving differences”, Indian Army is waiting for the words to turn into action on the ground.

The Indian Army has demanded that earlier status quo be maintained by China at the LAC.

Also read: China has definitely crossed India’s Lakshman rekha but it won’t lead to 1962 again

New Delhi: Tensions between India and China have now boiled over to social media, with handles from both sides engaging in a war of videos and photographs, even as reports indicating multiple clashes on the banks of the Pangong Lake emerge. Earlier, it was assumed that the two sides were involved in a physical altercation only on 5 May.

Social media handles from both China and India Sunday began circulating visuals of soldiers being assaulted from both sides.

It was first an undated video shared from Indian social media handles, showing Indian troops clashing with a group of Chinese soldiers in the Pangong Lake area of Ladakh, which started being circulated.

The 2-minutes-and-45-seconds video shows Indian security personnel challenging a group of Chinese soldiers who can be seen with their Dongfeng 4×4 vehicle too. A soldier, believed to be Chinese, could be seen lying on the ground in the video, under the fibre protective shield of an Indian soldier.

However, the Army, in a statement Sunday, said the video was not authenticated and attempts to link it with the tensions along the Line of Actual Control were malafide.

The angle of the video indicates it was shot from the Indian side.

Within hours, Chinese social media handles tweeted an undated image showing five Indian security personnel lying on the ground with their feet tied with the Peoples’ Liberation Army soldiers in the frame.

It appears to be a recent photograph as the Chinese soldiers can be seen wearing a mask. A boat is also visible in the background, indicating it was taken in the vicinity of the Pangong Lake.

However, there was no official word by the forces on this and the picture comes after the Army had officially denied any detention of Indian soldiers on 23 May.

Also read: Senior Indian, Chinese military commanders set to meet to defuse Ladakh tensions

More physical clashes since 5 May

While the clash between Indian and Chinese troops on 5 May has been confirmed by the Army, it has now emerged that several such clashes have been taking place along the Line of Actual Control in the Pangong Lake area.

According to news agency ANI, a major face-off between the troops had occurred in the third week of May in the ‘finger area’. The 134 km of Pangong Lake’s northern bank juts out like a palm, and the various protrusions are identified as “fingers” to demarcate territory.

Sources in the know told ThePrint that a Chinese patrolling party was also stopped by Indian troops from entering the Indian perceived side of LAC on 18 March, which led to a clash.

Both sides had shot videos and pictures during this clash, according to the sources.

On 20 May, ThePrint had reported that troops from both sides have been challenging each other’s patrol on a daily basis.

Meanwhile, the Army’s statement also mentioned that “currently no violence is happening”.

Incidentally, while there is a Chinese troop build-up in the Galwan Valley along the LAC and transgressions by their troops have also been reported in the larger Hot Springs Area, Pangong Lake is a major area of concern. Chinese soldiers have been especially aggressive there.

ThePrint had reported Saturday that Chinese soldiers are busy blacktopping a track in the disputed ‘finger’ area of Pangong Lake after blocking the path of Indian patrols with a new bunker, two bulldozers and a moat-like construction. Blacktopping is the final stage of building a motorable road.

Also read: Chinese troops blacktopping track in disputed ‘finger’ area in Ladakh amid border tensions

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 31

Air Commodore Sanjiv Ghuratia, Air Officer Commanding, No.3 Base Repair Depot, has been elected as the new Chairman of the Aeronautical Society of India (AeSI), Chandigarh chapter.

He took over the post during an online ceremony from Dr Pravendra Kumar, Director, SPIC, DRDO, New Delhi, today.

A life member and fellow of the IETE, Ghuratia is a Flight Test Engineer who has served in the IAF for more than 32 years in various capacities, including United Nations Mission abroad. He is an alumni of Air Force Test Pilots School, Bangalore, BITS Pilani and the Defence Services Staff College, Wellington.

AeSI Chandigarh Chapter is actively involved in promoting aeronautical science in the tricity region.

After taking over, the new Chairman shared the roadmap of various activities planned by the AeSI for 2020-21. He said the AeSI would provide a strong platform to the aerospace industry and academia towards making the country self-reliant in the growing field of aerospace.

Jammu, June 1

Three heavily-armed Pakistani terrorists were killed as the Army scuttled a major infiltration bid along the Line of Control (LoC) in Nowshera sector of Jammu and Kashmir’s Rajouri district, officials said on Monday.

The Pakistani terrorists made the abortive attempt to sneak into the Kalal area of Nowshera from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) on May 28 but were killed in the subsequent counter-infiltration operation, the officials said.

They said bodies of all the three terrorists were found by the search parties Monday morning but could not be retrieved due to close proximity of the enemy posts and the lurking threat of firing during any attempt to recover them.

However, a large quantity of arms and ammunition, including two AK assault rifles with 13 filled magazines, a US-make M-16A2 rifle with six filled magazines, a 9-MM Chinese pistol, an Under Barrel Grenade Launcher (UBGL) with six grenades, five hand grenades and two knives, was recovered during the operation, the officials said.

In addition, they said, a large quantity of food items, medicines and Rs 17,000 in Indian currency was recovered from the rucksacks which were found left abandoned by the terrorists while trying to flee back in the face of the heavy firing by the Indian Army.

The area is still under domination and operations are in progress, the officials said. — PTI

Sandeep Dikshit

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 31

India has declared two Pakistan High Commission officials persona non grata for espionage and asked them to leave the country by Tuesday.

According to the Ministry of External Affairs, the two were caught red handed by the police while accepting documents of Indian security establishment. The Indian who gave them the documents was handed over money and an iPhone. The duo was then interrogated during which they disclosed that they were also working for the Pakistani intelligence agency ISI, it said.

The Pakistan Foreign Office has accused India of violating the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations for the “detention and torture” of its visa section employees Abid Husain and Tahir after they were “lifted by the Indian authorities on false and unsubstantiated charges”. It said the incident was an attempt to escalate tensions to divert attention.

The MEA said Pakistan’s Charge de Affaires was issued a demarche in which a strong protest was lodged with regard to the activities of these officials against India’s national security. The Pakistan’s Cd’A was also asked to ensure that no member of its diplomatic mission should indulge in activities inimical to India or behave in a manner incompatible with their diplomatic status.

The two have been declared persona non grata for “indulging in activities incompatible with their status as members of a diplomatic mission,” it added.

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, June 1

The military stalemate on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) continued even as the US backed India and the Chinese Foreign Office reiterated that the situation in the border areas was “stable and under control.”

Sources said the military-level talks at the two designated points in eastern Ladakh had not yielded results and postures had hardened with troops mandated to hold ground.

Both sides kept under wraps diplomatic negotiations to resolve the standoff that emerged after Chinese troops reacted to efforts to modernise military infrastructure on the Indian side of the LAC.

In Beijing, the Chinese Foreign Office said the two countries were capable of resolving border issues through dialogue and negotiations at the military and diplomatic levels. Both India and China have said they are committed to safeguarding national security along the LAC.

Sources said the Indian troops had been forward-deployed with food and sleeping bags to hold ground in the Galwan valley and the north of Pangong Tso. The Chinese have stopped the Indian troops 5 km short of the earlier accepted patrol point in the valley. At Pangong Tso, China is trying to push Indian troops back to ‘Finger 2’ from ‘Finger 4’, a distance of over 10 km.

Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo cited the Sino-India border standoff to assert the Chinese military advances were for real. The US could be good partners with India, Australia, South Korea, Japan, Brazil and Europe, he said.

New Delhi, June 1

The government on Monday withdrew a list of over 1,000 non-‘swadeshi’ products to be banned from sale at Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) canteens barely a couple of hours after it was circulated as several items in it were made in India.

Stating that action is being initiated for the “lapse”, Union Home Ministry officials said there were discrepancies in the list issued by the Kendriya Police Kalyan Bhandar (central police welfare stores) and a new one would be issued after due diligence.

The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), which manages the board of the CAPF canteens, said the list was issued “erroneously”.

“This is clarified that the list issued by Kendriya Police Kalyan Bhandar on May 29 regarding de-listing of certain products has been erroneously issued at the level of CEO.” “The list has been withdrawn and action is being initiated for the lapse,” a statement issued in the name of the CRPF director general said.

The CRPF chief is the chairman of the welfare and rehabilitation board that looks after the network of canteens. —PTI

Tribune News Service
New Delhi, June 1

India is making a last-ditch effort to persuade Nepal not to push ahead with a Constitutional amendment that will formalise the inclusion of territory claimed by India in its political map.

Nepal has already issued a revised political map but a Constitutional amendment, if passed by its Parliament, will give finality to the process and allow the new contours of the border to be incorporated in its coat of arms.

Read also: Nepal’s map move

About the dispute

Nepal government has tabled a Bill to approve a new map which shows Lipulekh, Kalapani and Limpiyadhura-which also feature on India’s map-as part of its territory. India has rejected the map, calling the revision “unilateral” and “not based on historical facts and evidences”.

Sources said India has attempted to convey to Nepal that it is ready for talks with the tactical aim of delaying the parliamentary procedure. The new offer, conveyed through former security and diplomatic officials, is a revision of the old offer to hold Foreign Secretary-level talks after the Covid epidemic is over. The old offer of holding talks after the epidemic had riled the Nepalese political class and led to hardening of stance. Kathmandu had argued that talks could also be held during the pandemic if Defence Minister Rajnath Singh could inaugurate a road running through disputed areas while Covid was raging.

While the Indian side has not officially acknowledged the feelers sent out to Nepal, its Foreign Minister Pradeep Gyawali said Kathmandu is in constant touch with New Delhi. “The date and modality of informal talks are not fixed yet, but we are in constant touch with the Indian side… We want to resolve the issue through diplomatic means,’’ he was reported as having briefed Nepal’s parliamentary committee on foreign affairs.

The last-minute Indian attempt is the same tactics of 2015 when S Jaishankar, then the Foreign Secretary, had landed in Kathmandu to block major legislative changes that had upset Madhesis living in the plains bordering India. By the time Jaishankar landed, the die had been cast and Nepal did not heed the Foreign Secretary’s call, leading to an unacknowledged economic blockade.