A day after new bridges in border areas were opened by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, China said that it does not recognize the Ladakh Union Territory illegally set up by India, NDTV reported. China opposed the infrastructure construction in the area.
China's Foreign Ministry's spokerperson Zhao Lijian also said that the infrastructure development on the border was the cause of tensions between the two countries.
Lijian said, "First I want to make it clear that China does not recognise the Ladakh Union Territory illegally set up by the Indian side and the Arunachal Pradesh. We stand against the development of infrastructure facilities aimed at military contention along the border area."
Earlier, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday virtually inaugurated 44 bridges in the country including eight strategic bridges in Ladakh only.
In addition to this, the construction of 45 more bridges in Ladakh will be completed by Border Roads Organisation (BRO) in the next two years.
The 44 bridges constructed by BRO and were inaugurated today are spread over seven states/union territories. BRO has completed eight bridges in both Kargil and Leh on four strategically important roads close to the Line of Control (LOC) and Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh.
On the other hand, the two countries released a joint statement on Tuesday stating that India and China have agreed to implement the important understandings reached by the leaders of the two countries, not to turn differences into disputes.
"On 12 October, the 7th round of Senior Commanders meeting of India and China was held in Chushul. The two sides had a sincere, in-depth and constructive exchange of views on disengagement along the Line of Actual Control in the Western Sector of India-China border areas," the statement said.
"Both sides agreed to earnestly implement the important understandings reached by the leaders of the two countries, not to turn differences into disputes, and jointly safeguard peace and tranquillity in the border areas," the statement further read.
Following the 7th corps level talks, both sides were of the view that these discussions were positive, constructive and had enhanced understanding of each other's positions.
Both sides agreed to maintain dialogue and communication through military and diplomatic channels and arrive at a mutually acceptable solution for disengagement as early as possible.
The seventh Corps Commander level meeting between India and China, to address the situation in Eastern Ladakh, lasted for more than 11 hours and ended around 11:30 PM on Monday.
The transgressions in Eastern Ladakh took place in April-May timeframe.
The political and military leadership including External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval, Chief of Defence Staff Gen Bipin Rawat, Army chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane and Air Force Chief RKS Bhadauria have been involved in tackling the issue of Chinese transgressions.
The core security team led by the NSA has been actively involved in preemptive and thwarting Chinese bids to occupy strategic heights in the southern and northern Pangong lake area.
(With inputs from Agencies)
