China builds 5 km roads crossing LAC
Leh: India and China may have announced an end to their 20-day stand-off in Ladakh sector, but the situation has not entirely settled down judging from a recent incident when the Chinese intercepted an Indian Army patrol and prevented it from going to Line of Actual Control (LAC).
The sources said that after the incident all patrols were stopped by the Ladakh-based 14 corps including the one proposed to be sent in Depsang plain, where Chinese Army had pitched tents for nearly three weeks beginning from April 15.
After the announcement that the stand-off has been resolved, Indian security patrols in certain areas such as Rocky Knob have been curtailed, the sources said. Chumar, a remote village on Ladakh- Himachal Pradesh border, has been an issue for Chinese which claim it to be its own territory and have been frequenting it with helicopter incursions almost every year. Last year, it dropped some of the soldiers of PLA in this region and dismantled the makeshift storage tents of the Army and ITBP.
This area is not accessible from the Chinese side whereas the Indian side has a road almost to the last point on which the army can carry a load up to nine tonnes. There appears to be some lack of coordination among various Indian defence forces. The Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) has complained to the Union Home Ministry that they had been kept out of the May 5 flag meeting with the Chinese by the Army when the decision to withdraw forces on both sides was taken.
