New Delhi: Between two huge diplomatic Indo-Chinese events - the Modi-Xi informal Wuhan summit at April end and the meeting between the two leaders at the beginning of June on the sidelines of SCO summit - China transgressed into Indian territory 28 times.
Not only that, the Chinese military, People's Liberation Army, has been conducting training sessions for its soldiers to prepare them for potential military confrontation with India.
Of these nearly 30 transgressions, which were registered in May, 22 were registered on ground by PLA soldiers, in some cases the face-offs between Indian and Chinese soldiers happened nearly 20 kms inside Indian territory. The rest were airspace violations carried out by their Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) that are likely to have been sent for reconnaissance missions.
The transgressions were reported mainly from Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh. In some cases Chinese soldiers have been found to have pitched tents a few meters inside Indian territory.
In Ladakh, most of the transgressions were reported from Depsang, Pangang Tso (lake), Demchok and Trig Heights. Of these nine such transgressions were reported from north Ladakh’s Trig heights and Depsang. In south and central Ladakh, violations of Indian air space by Chinese UAVs were noted by the Indian soldiers in the month of May.
Similarly, transgressions, both on Indian soil and airspace, were also reported from Asaphila, Dichu, Shiyung La, of Arunachal Pradesh.
In Depsang, the PLA soldiers entered nearly 20 kms into Indian territory. It is an area that is in news frequently for the regularity with which confrontations are seen between Indian and Chinese soldiers. In March, the Chinese soldiers entered the Indian territory as many as six times in Depsang area.
The other area that has seen regular border disputes is Asphila. In March, the Chinese military issued a strong protest over, what they claimed, was a transgression by the Indian soldiers. Incidentally, India had complained of three Chinese transgressions. Both countries claim that the entire Asphila region belongs to them.
Most of the Chinese transgressions were reported to have happened early morning, sources said.
The other Chinese activity that has kept Indian agencies on their toes is their Southwest China autonomous region, close to India. The Chinese mouthpiece, Global Times, quoted Song Zhongping, a military expert and TV commentator, openly talking about how India was the “target” for which these drills were being conducted.
"It's normal for any military training to have an imaginary opposing force," Song said. "In this case, it's obvious who the target is, given the fact that training was conducted on the plateau in Tibet," Zhongping is quoted to have told Global Times.
These exercises are being conducted by Chinese military along with its air force.
Infiltrating the “enemy lines”, Zhongping was quoted to have said, "was an effective special operation that could be key to winning a battle… It's valuable for all forces to practise this kind of training.”
The transgression by Chinese soldiers has become a huge issue between the two countries which are trying to resolve their border disputes following the 73-day standoff between Indian and Chinese troops in the Doka La region last year.
Last year saw a big jump in the number of transgressions by Chinese soldiers - 426 compared to just 273 transgression noted last year.
Indian troops stopped the Chinese construction of a road in Doklam - a region under dispute between China and Bhutan. It was felt that road connectivity would give China direct access to the Siliguri corridor, giving them strategic advantage in cutting off North East states, and it had to be stopped because it violated the status quo agreed upon by the three countries.
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