New Delhi, Feb 8 Union Minister and former Army chief Gen (retd) V.K. Singh's comment about Indian troops crossing the Line of Actual Control (LAC) has sparked a war of words between the two countries, prompting Beijing to blame New Delhi for the military tension on the borders.
China's Foreign Ministry has responded to Singh's statement on LAC transgressions, calling it "an unwitting confession".
According to a statement published on the Chinese Foreign Ministry's website, spokesperson Wang Wenbin reacted to Singh's statement and blamed India for the ongoing border conflict along the LAC in eastern Ladakh.
"This is unwitting confession by the Indian side. For a long time, the Indian side has conducted frequent acts of tresspass in the border area in an attempt to encroach on China's territory and constantly created disputes and frictions which is the root cause of the tensions at the China-India border," the statement said.
Speaking to reporters at the Circuit House in Madurai on Sunday, Singh had said that China has transgressed into India many times over the years with its own perception of the LAC.
"But none of you come to know how many times we have transgressed, as per our perception. The Indian government does not announce it, while the Chinese media does not cover it. Let me assure you, if China has transgressed 10 times, we must have done it at least 50 times," Singh claimed.
Reacting to Singh's remarks, the Chinese Foreign Ministry further said, "We urge the Indian side to follow through on the consensus, agreements and treaties it reached with China, and uphold peace and stability in the border region with concrete actions."
So far, India has maintained that China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) was the first to provoke and transgress across the LAC. Further, the Chinese troops are not ready to disengage.
India and China are engaged in a nine-month long standoff along the Line of Actual Control. Despite several levels of dialogue, there has not been any breakthrough and the deadlock continues.
Top military officials of India and China had nine rounds of dialogue to resolve the border dispute and thinning of forces along the LAC in eastern Ladakh.
Both the countries have agreed to follow the important consensus of their state leaders, maintain the good momentum of dialogue and negotiation, and hold the 10th round of the Corps Commander level meeting at an early date to jointly advance de-escalation.
( With inputs from IANS )
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