India-China border standoff continues

Even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi went out of his way to host Chinese President Xi Jinping on the banks of the Sabarmati, the stand-off between Indian and Chinese troops in eastern Ladakh continued as Wednesday’s flag meeting failed to break the impasse.

In the Colonel-level meeting, the two sides decided to cut down the number of troops engaged in the eyeball-to-eyeball situation at Chumar in eastern Ladakh.

While there were about 250 troops from the People's Armed Police Force, India was represented by about 100 men from the Army and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police.

Though both sides initially agreed to reduce the troop size to de-escalate the situation, something obviously went wrong because by afternoon, border guards from the two nations reinforced their strength.

As two flag meetings in the last 72 hours could not defuse the situation, a third flag meeting is understood to have been convened to resolve the crisis, though there is no official confirmation. This underscores the seriousness of the situation.

Defence Secretary R K Mathur met Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh and Cabinet Secretary Ajith Seth to apprise them about the border situation that shadows the bilateral talks scheduled for Thursday.

Despite repeated requests, the spokespersons of the Ministry of External Affairs and Ministry of Defence did not make any comment. The imbroglio at Demchok–about 100 km from Chumar–involving a group of Chinese nomads, too, continues with no solution in sight.

The Army is surprised with the fresh controversy in Chumar, which was free of dispute till recently. The Chinese resentment first came to light during the Depsang Bulge incursion incident last year when Chinese troops withdrew after India destroyed a tin-shade in Chumar.