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India Responds: 'Chinese Army Fired Shots, We Did Not Transgress LAC'

The Indian Army said China's statement was "an attempt to mislead their domestic and international audience".
Pangong Tso lake in Ladakh
Pacific Press via Getty Images
Pangong Tso lake in Ladakh

After China on Monday accused Indian troops of crossing the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and firing warning shots in the air, the Indian Army responded saying the People’s Liberation Army had continued to “undertake provocative activities to escalate”.

Countering China’s claims, India said that the Army at no stage “transgressed the LAC) or resorted to use of any aggressive means, including firing”.

“It is the PLA that has been blatantly violating agreements and carrying out aggressive manoeuvres, while engagement at military, diplomatic and political level is in progress.” The Army said that on 7 September, it was PLA troops “who were attempting to close-in with one of our forward positions along the LAC and when dissuaded by own troops, PLA troops fired a few rounds in the air in an attempt to intimidate own troops”.

The Indian Army’s statement further said that despite the provocation, Indian troops exercised great restraint and behaved in a mature and responsible manner. It termed the statement by the Western Theatre Command as an attempt to mislead their domestic and international audience.

On Monday, PLA Senior Colonel Zhang Shuili, spokesperson of the Western Theatre Command, said that “on 7 September, the Indian army illegally crossed the LAC and entered the south bank of Pangong Lake and the Shenpao mountain area in the the western section of the Sino-Indian border,” according to The Hindu.

State-run Global Times quoted the spokesperson as saying that the India’s move “seriously violated related agreements reached by both sides, stirred up tensions in the region, and would easily cause misunderstandings and misjudgments, which is a serious military provocation and is very vile in nature.”

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