Xi vows to build ‘ironclad shield’ in Tibet, China’s PLA makes fresh attempt to grab India’s land

Xi vowed to build 'ironclad shield' in Tibet

The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) made its latest attempt to transgress into the territory of India just hours after the communist country’s President Xi Jinping vowed to build an “ironclad shield” in Tibet.

Xi asked the Communist Party of China, the Chinese government and the PLA to strengthen “border defence” and “frontier security”, while delivering a speech during the seventh Central Symposium on Tibet Work. He also signalled a renewed crackdown on “separatists” challenging China’s sovereignty in Tibet.

He delivered the speech on Saturday, just a few hours before the Chinese PLA made a fresh attempt to transgress into the territory of India on the southern bank of the Pangong Tso (lake) on Ladakh-Tibet border region, but was outmanoeuvred by a pre-emptive move by the Indian Army.

“More education and guidance should be provided for the public to mobilise their participation in combating separatist activities, thus forging an ironclad shield to safeguard stability,” Xi was quoted saying in a report by the state-run Xinhua news agency of China.

His call for strengthening “national security and enduring peace and stability” in Tibet came amid PLA’s expansionist moves along China’s disputed boundary with India.

Beijing has been accusing Dalai Lama and the Tibetan Government in Exile based in Dharamshala in India of running a campaign to liberate Tibet from the occupation of China.

Since the stand-off between the Indian Army and the Chinese PLA started in eastern Ladakh in early May, Beijing renewed focus on security of Tibet, deployed a large number of soldiers in the region and stepped up crackdown on Tibetans.

Xi, who is also the chairman of the Central Military Commission of China, called for building an “impregnable fortress of stability” in Tibet.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi recently visited Tibet Autonomous Region and called for stepping up efforts to safeguard the national security of China. He also said that Tibet's security and stability was closely related to the overall development of China.

The stand-off between the Indian Army and the China's PLA in eastern Ladakh started after the communist country’s soldiers in late April and early May stepped up attempts to alter the status quo along the disputed boundary between the two nations in Galwan Valley, northern bank of the Pangong Tso and several other locations in eastern Ladakh. The Indian Army too deployed additional troops to respond to transgressions by the Chinese PLA. The stand-off took the relations between the two neighbours to a new low, particularly after the violent clash between soldiers of the Indian Army and the Chinese PLA in Galwan Valley on June 15, with both sides suffering casualties.

The two sides early last month mutually agreed on phased withdrawal of the frontline troops from the face-off scenes along the LAC. The process of “disengagement”, however, remained stalled since mid-July, as the Chinese PLA declined to withdraw troops completely from several face-off points along the LAC, including Depsang Y junction, Gogra Post and the northern bank of the Pangong Tso.