Chinese Incursion in Uttarakhand, Chief Minster Seeks Centre's Action

Incursion again from the chinese
Few days after transgressing the East Kameng district in Arunachal Pradesh, India again witnessed a Chinese incursion in the Chamoli district of Uttarakhand. Chief Minister Harish Rawat also confirmed the incursion. Uttarakhand shares a 350 kilometer boundary with China and China has made several attempts before as well. In past instances, Chinese troops entered the area and wrote the word “China”on the rocks near Mana Pass in Chamoli. This has been the case for the last few years, said several sources.

ITBP asked to look into it
Harish Rawat mentioned about the recent incursion as “something to worry about” and has sought Centre’s help to increase vigilance. Union Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju said Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) had been asked to look into the matter. In June, China had rejected allegation of any incursion, they said it was their part of “normal patrolling”on the Chinese side of the Line of Actual Control.

Past instances
In 1958, Chinese side had sent a delegation for negotiations with India and both sides had agreed not to send troops into the area but had avoided a discussion on final settlement of the Barahoti ground. The sources said that ever since this agreement, ITBP, which mans the 3,488-km Sino-Indian border from Ladakh in Jammu and Kashmir to Arunachal Pradesh in Northeast, had never entered the area with arms. The Chinese troops have since the reported incursion returned even as apprehensions persisted that they may be taking undue advantage of the agreement of 1958 by pushing their soldiers into the area which they recognize as ‘Wu-Je’.