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Even as the New Delhi and Beijing try to negotiate a solution to the military faceoff in eastern Ladakh, where soldiers from the People's Liberation Army (PLA) transgressed into the Indian side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) last month, China has reportedly increased its army presence across the entire stretch of the de-facto border. News agency ANI reported that the PLA has ramped up presence from Leh to Arunachal Pradesh.
The Chinese military has done military build-up not only in Ladakh but also in other sectors including Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh, wherever it shares borders with us. The build-up includes troops and heavy weaponry, which are deployed in rear positions," ANI quoted government sources as saying earlier in the day.
The news agency quoted its sources as adding that India has increased its troop numbers in response, so to match the numerical strength of the PLA.
The development comes a day after "limited disengagement" between Indian and Chinese troops from three different locations in eastern Ladakh, as per news reports. Reportedly, the two forces are now engaged in a faceoff at only one location, namely the Pangong Tso Lake.
Stating that the situation at the border was improving after the Corp Commander level discussion at Moldo on June 6, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said, "Recently the diplomatic and military channels of China and India held effective communication on the situation along the border and reached positive consensus."
"The two sides are following this consensus to take actions to ease the situation along the borders," she added.
At his weekly press briefing on Thursday, the Ministry of External Affairs said that military and diplomatic engagements were ongoing between the two sides in a bid to find an end to the impasse in eastern Ladakh.
"As you are aware, a meeting was held between the Corps Commanders of India and China on 6th June 2020 in the Chushul-Moldo region. This meeting was in continuation of the diplomatic and military engagements which both sides have maintained to address the situation in areas along the India-China border. It was agreed that an early resolution of the situation would be in keeping with the guidance of the leaders," said MEA's official spokesperson Anurag Srivastava.
"The two sides are, therefore, maintaining their military and diplomatic engagements to peacefully resolve the situation at the earliest as also to ensure peace and tranquility in the border areas. This is essential for the further development of Indian-China bilateral relations," he added.
