Says politicisation of the issue shouldn’t be allowed. Amid tensions between Indian and Chinese soldiers at Pangong Tso lake area, China said on Wednesday that India should refrain from taking any action to “complicate” the issue and claimed that the PLA troops were conducting “normal patrol” on the Chinese side of the border.

Asked about the tensions along the border and whether the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) troops’ action was anyway related to the disagreements with the Indian government’s plan to lure business out of China, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said both the countries were in diplomatic contact over the face-off between their troops.

“China’s position on the border issue is consistent and clear. Chinese border troops have been upholding peace and tranquillity along the border areas,” Zhao told a media briefing here. “We urge the Indian side to work with China and refrain from making any complicating move so as to create enabling conditions for the development of our bilateral relations and peace and stability at the border areas,” he said.

“The two sides stay in diplomatic communication on the relevant border issue,” he said. Since the tensions began at the Pangong Tso lake area in eastern Ladakh on May 5-6, China maintained steady silence over the incident while its official media has not reported it so far.

He said the most pressing issue for the world at present is the fight against the deadly coronavirus and added that politicisation of the issue shouldn't be allowed. At least a couple of Chinese military helicopters were spotted flying close to the un-demarcated Sino-India border in the area after the fierce face-off on May 5 following which a fleet of Sukhoi-30 jets of the Indian Air Force too carried out sorties there, sources said in New Delhi.

The troops on both sides held on to their respective positions and even reinforcements were brought in an apprehension of further escalation in tension, they said when asked about the face-off. On May 5, scores of Indian and Chinese army personnel clashed with iron rods, sticks, and even resorted to stone-pelting, sources said, adding a number of soldiers on both sides sustained injuries in the incident. — PTI

Courtesy: The Tribune: 14th May, 2020