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Chinese Troops Violated Indian Airspace And 'Camped' For An Hour In Uttarakhand

Over the past few years, Chinese troops have been spotted in the area and even air violations have taken place in this area.
The troops violated the border in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand area.
AFP/Getty Images
The troops violated the border in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand area.

NEW DELHI-- Last week, the Chinese troops violated the border in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand area and infiltrated into Uttarakhand, the government confirmed today.

The Chinese troops were seen camping along with arms despite the two nations having agreed to keep it a demilitarised area.

After a face-off with the Indian soldiers that lasted about an hour, both sides pulled back.

While Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat termed the development as "something to worry about" hoping that Centre will pay heed to his request for increased vigil, Union Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju said ITBP had been asked to look into the matter.

The incident took place on 19 July when a team led by Chamoli District Magistrate and others including officials from ITBP went for a survey of Barahoti ground, official sources said.

The sources said that the civilian team was sent back by Chinese People's Liberation Army troops, who claimed it to be their land.

The 80 square kilometre ground has been agreed by the two countries to be a disputed part since 1957 and was to be sorted out at the negotiating table by the two sides.

Over the past few years, Chinese troops have been spotted in the area and even air violations have taken place in this area, the sources said.

Chinese side had sent in a delegation on 19 April, 1958 for negotiations with their Indian counterparts 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. However, shepherds from both sides were allowed to enter the ground.

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 in their soldiers into the area which they recognise as 'Wu-Je'.

With inputs from PTI

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This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.