Responsibility for fresh tension rests entirely with India, claims China

India’s claim about pre-empting a move by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) on the south bank of the Pangong Tso (lake) itself proved that its army was the first to illegally cross the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the area, a spokesperson of the communist country’s government said.

Even as the local commanders of the two armies continued talks to defuse tension on the south bank of the Pangong Tso, Beijing kept on blaming the Indian Army for trying to unilaterally change the status quo along the LAC.

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“The responsibility rests entirely with India,” Hua Chunying, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Chinese government, told journalists in Beijing on Wednesday.

“China has exercised great restraint to prevent escalation of the situation along the border with India.”

New Delhi earlier this week stated that the Indian Army had on Saturday-Sunday night pre-empted a move by the Chinese PLA to unilaterally push the LAC westwards and grab land belonging to India.

Hua on Wednesday cited the statement by the Government of India and referred to a Chinese proverb – “there are no 300 taels of silver buried here”, which meant that one accidentally gave away the hidden truth in an explanation.

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“India’s statements reveal the fact that the Indian troops were the first to have illegally crossed the LAC, made provocations, changed the status quo in the border areas, and violated bilateral agreements and important consensus,” she said.

She also alleged that India had breached bilateral agreements and important consensus many times in the western sector of the China-India boundary since the beginning of the year, attempted to unilaterally change the status quo by force, undermined peace and stability in the border region and caused tensions.

Hua said that the two sides were in communication through military and diplomatic channels.

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“We urge India to strictly discipline its border troops, stop all provocations at once, immediately withdraw all personnel who illegally trespassed across the LAC, and stop taking any actions that may escalate tensions or complicate matters,” said the spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Chinese government.

“We hope India will work with China to implement bilateral agreements and important consensus reached by leaders of the two sides and make concrete efforts to uphold peace and tranquillity in the border areas,” she said.