(TibetanReview.net, Sep10’24) – While the Indian army has not responded to a query, a union minister has suggested Sep 9 that the reported evidences of camping by Chinese troops some 60km inside Indian territory in Arunachal Pradesh very recently did not amount to encroachment.
Mr Union minister Kiren Rijiju, who belongs to the state, has suggested that it might have been a case of overlapping patrolling. He has said mere painting of marks in undemarcated locations doesn’t mean the areas have been encroached upon.
“China can’t take our land. Overlapping of patrolling does take place in the undemarcated areas. They are not allowed to construct anything permanent. There is strict vigil from our side. Mere painting of marks in undemarcated locations doesn’t mean the areas have been encroached on,” Rijiju has told the PTI news agency.
It was earlier reported by newsfy.in Sep 6, citing “sources”, that the camping had occurred in Kapapu area of Anjaw district around a week earlier.
The report carried pictures of bonfires, spray-painted rocks and Chinese food materials found at the site shared over social media. They were stated to bear evidences of the recentness of the alleged Chinese incursion.
The pictures also show markings on rocks with the year 2024 written, a tactic reportedly used by the Chinese military during their incursions into Indian territory to assert claims, the newsfy.in report said.
The cabinet minister for Parliamentary Affairs and Minority Affairs has said India has been building infrastructure along the border and will continue to do so. “But we will not allow anyone to come near the Line of Actual Control,” he has added.
Meanwhile, arunachaltimes.in said Sep 9 that it sent a query to the Indian Army’s public relations officer in Tezpur (Assam), but no response came from the PRO there.