Army Chief Bipin Rawat, during his interaction with media in New Delhi, said that there was a major reduction in the number of Chinese troops in Doklam. China has finally agreed to stop road-construction at the Line of Actual Control (LAC). The LAC is situated in Tuting near Bishing area of Arunachal Pradesh. It is considered as a positive effort from both sides as Indian side returned the two earth excavators and other construction equipment seized from the region last month.
The news came two days after both sides had a meeting last week over the problem.
Last year on 26th December, Indian Troops and Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) stopped Chinese workers while they were trying to build a track on the Indian side of the Line of Actual Control. Various equipment including two earth excavators was also seized in the process. The Chinese were told to return to their side to avoid any unwanted conflict.
Army Chief further said that the transgression incident in Tuting had been resolved by the Indian Army and ITBP. The Chinese workers had entered Indian side of LAC while constructing a track around 2km away from the ITBP Police patrolling post. The incident happened on the December 26, last year.
The Chinese were able to construct a 600-meter-long and around 12-feet wide track before they were stopped. According to the government report, the workers had entered the Indian territory inadvertently. The report further mentioned clearly that China’s main party had no hand in the incident.
To resolve the conflict, the Indian and Chinese officials had a meeting on last Saturday, January 6. The Chinese officials agreed to not further their construction in the Indian territory and Indian Troops returned their water bowsers and earth excavators.
A senior officer said that the Chinese acted maturely and tried to solve the issue without any further conflict. They accepted that the workers crossed the LAC due to their different perception of the border. He added that China has assured that they will not use the road now.
The incident happened after both parties were involved in a 73-day-long standoff in Doklam. The official while talking about the situation said that it was good news for India as there was a major reduction in the number of Chinese troops in the region. The Doklam standoff went on from June 16 to August 28, 2017.
Army Chief Bipin Rawat while speaking at the Army Technology Summit said that there was a need for the modernization of our forces. He focused that the country should be fully prepared and ready for any “future wars”. Referring to these wars, he said that they will be fought on difficult terrains and unprecedented circumstances. He focused on indigenously made weapons and said that we should rely less on imports.
