600 border violations by China along LAC since 2010

China's "deeper" troop incursions into Ladakh have set the alarm bells clanging in the Indian security establishment, even as defence minister A K Antony on Monday asserted that all necessary steps would be taken "to protect the country's interests" in the continuing face-off between rival soldiers in the Daulat Beg Oldie (DBO) sector.

India has recorded well over 600 "transgressions" - the government's euphemism for cross-border intrusions - all along the unresolved 4,057-km Line of Actual Control (LAC) by the People's Liberation Army over the last three years.

While the sheer number of the incidents itself is disquieting, the Indian establishment is more worried about the "brazen military assertiveness" being shown by the PLA in all the three sectors of the LAC -- western (Ladakh), middle ( Uttarakhand, Himachal) and eastern ( Sikkim, Arunachal) - in recent times.

"Ladakh in particular — in DBO and Nyoma sectors as well as Trig Heights and Pangong Tso lake — is being targeted. Though Chinese troops usually go back after marking their presence, they are increasingly coming deeper and deeper into our territory with the aim to stake claim to disputed areas," said an official.

This comes in the backdrop of a PLA platoon setting up a temporary camp, with soldiers pitching tents to coolly settle down, around 10 km inside Indian territory in Burthe area of the DBO sector last week, as was then reported by TOI.

India also moved forward a platoon of Ladakh Scouts to station them just about 500 metres from the Chinese tented position, which is at an altitude of 16,800 feet. "Our soldiers are conducting 'banner drills' (waving banners and placards at the Chinese troops to show it is Indian territory) through the day," said another officer.

"We held a brigadier-level flag meeting with the Chinese troops on April 18 to resolve the issue but nothing much came off it. We have asked for another flag meeting," he added.

India is also working the hotlines of the new bilateral boundary coordination mechanism, which became operational last year after the 15th round of border between national security advisor Shivshankar Menon and his Chinese counterpart Dai Bingguo, to resolve the stand-off.

"We are in touch and flag meetings are going on. There is more information to come. We will factor all that and then take a final view," external affairs minister Salman Khurshid said.

But the fact remains that India has become extremely wary of China's cartographic aggression, coupled with the Beijing-Islamabad nexus, in the region. Pointing this out, Antony had warned at the recent Army commanders' conference that this hardening Chinese stand on the boundary issue was "not likely" to change even with the new leadership led by Xi Jingping taking guard in Beijing.

"Therefore, there is a need to constantly develop our capability to achieve minimum credible deterrence, even while we seek a peaceful resolution of the issue," he said. 

times of india