Chinese military bolsters troops in Aksai Chin region in Sino-India border: Report

Chinese troops have bolstered their border control measures within the Galwan Valley within the Aksai Chin region of the Sino-India border, official media here reported on Monday. The Chinese action followed "India's recent, illegal construction of defence facilities across the border into Chinese territory within the Galwan Valley region," a write-up within the state-run Global Times tabloid said, quoting unnamed military sources. "Since early May, India has been crossing the border within the Galwan Valley region and entering Chinese territory. The Indian side built defence fortifications and obstacles to disrupt Chinese border defence troops' normal patrol activities," the report claimed. There was no immediate reaction from either the Ministry of External Affairs or the Indian military. A military official in New Delhi on condition of anonymity said such incidents happen along the un-demarcated Sino-India border thanks to the varying perceptions of the frontier by the 2 sides. On May 5, around 250 Indian and Chinese army personnel clashed in Pangong Tso lake area in Eastern Ladakh. Four days later, there was an identical face-off near Naku La Pass in North Sikkim. Reacting to the 2 border incidents, India last week said it remained committed to maintaining peace and tranquillity along the border with China noting that such incidents could are avoided if there was a standard perception about the frontier. External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said on May 14 that India and China attach utmost importance to making sure peace and tranquillity altogether areas of Sino-India border regions and mentioned affirmation about it by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping in their two informal summits. "Occasionally, however, on account of difference in perception of the alignment of the road of Actual Control (LAC), situations have arisen on the bottom that would are avoided if we had a standard perception of the road of Control (LAC)," he said. The LAC is that the de-facto border between the 2 nations. He further said, "The Indian side remains committed to the target of maintaining peace and tranquillity within the India-China border areas." When asked about the newest incidents, Indian Army chief Gen M M Naravane said the Indian troops were maintaining their "posture" along the border with China while infrastructure development within the areas was also on target . "There were two incidents at Eastern Ladakh and North Sikkim where aggressive behaviour by each side resulted in minor injuries to troops post which each side disengaged after dialogue and interaction at the local level," he said last week. The troops of India and China were engaged during a 73-day stand-off within the Doklam tri-junction in 2017. The India-China border dispute covers the three ,488-km-long Line of Actual Control, the de-facto border between the 2 countries. China claims Arunachal Pradesh as a part of southern Tibet while India contests it. Both sides are asserting that pending the ultimate resolution of the boundary issue, it's necessary to take care of peace and tranquillity within the border areas. Prime Minister Modi and Chinese President Xi held their first informal summit in April 2018 within the Chinese city of Wuhan, months after the Doklam standoff. During the summit, the 2 leaders decided to issue "strategic guidance" to their militaries to strengthen communications in order that they will build trust and understanding. Modi and Xi held their second informal summit in Mamallapuram near Chennai in October last year with attention on further broadening bilateral ties.