NEW DELHI: NEW DELHI: Indian and Chinese troops were recently engaged in a face-off for a few hours along the Line of Actual Control(LAC) in the
Arunachal Pradesh
sector, the news agency ANI reported quoting sources.
The face-off was resolved after the talks between the local commanders as per existing protocols, the ANI said.
There have been a number of border incidents between the Indian and Chinese troops along the LAC in last few years. "Such kinds of incidents will continue to occur till such time that a long-term solution is reached, and that is to have a boundary agreement. And that should be the thrust of our efforts so that we have lasting peace along the northern (China) border," Army Chief General M M Naravane had said in September.
The border standoff between the Indian and Chinese armies had escalated after the Galwan Valley clashes on June 15 last year. Twenty Indian Army personnel laid down their lives in the clashes that marked the most serious military conflicts between the two sides in decades.
In February 2021, China officially acknowledged that five Chinese military officers and soldiers were killed in the clashes with the Indian Army though it is widely believed that the death toll was higher.
As a result of a series of military and diplomatic talks, the two sides completed the disengagement process in
Gogra
area last month.
In February, the two sides completed the withdrawal of troops and weapons from the north and south banks of the Pangong lake in line with an agreement on disengagement.
Each side currently has around 50,000 to 60,000 troops along the LAC (
Line of Actual Control
) in the sensitive sector.
In 2017, Indian and Chinese troops were engaged in a 73-day stand-off in Doklam tri-junction which even triggered fears of a war between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.
The India-China border dispute covers the 3,488-km-long LAC. China claims Arunachal Pradesh as part of southern Tibet while India contests it.
Whenever patrols of both sides physically meet, the situation is managed according to established protocols and mechanisms agreed by both sides. Physical engagement can last for a few hours prior to disengaging as per mutual understanding, they said.
Earlier in August, India and China had disengaged troops from the Gogra heights area and moved them back to their permanent bases.
In the 12th round of military talks, India and China had agreed to disengage troops from patrolling point 17A, one of the friction points between the two countries in the eastern
Ladakh
region.
(With inputs from agencies)