A village built by China along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Arunachal Pradesh sector and mentioned in a recent Pentagon report is in territory controlled by that country, sources in the security establishment told news agency ANI on Tuesday.
“The village along the disputed border in the upper Subansiri district is in the territory controlled by China. They have, for years, maintained an Army post in the region and the various constructions undertaken by the Chinese have not happened in a short time," sources said.
They further added, "The village has been built by China in an area that was occupied by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) after overrunning an Assam Rifles post in 1959, in an operation known as Longju incident along the frontier in Arunachal Pradesh."
China has built a large civilian village of about 100 homes in a disputed territory in Arunachal Pradesh, reported cnbctv18 citing the US department of defense.
In its annual report on military developments relating to China, presented to the Congress, the department said such infrastructure development efforts by the China’s People’s Liberation Army have been a source of concern among the government of India.
As per the reports, the new village was set up along the Tsari river last year. “Beginning in May 2020, PLA launched incursions into customarily Indian-controlled territory across the border and has concentrated troops at several standoff locations along LAC (Line of Actual Control),” the report read, adding China has fielded reserve force from Tibet and Xinjiang military districts in the western areas of the nation for rapid response.
Negotiations between the two countries to resolve border disputes have not made much progress with China blaming India for provoking them with “increased infrastructure development” near the LAC, the report stated.
The defense report blamed China for the series of confrontations along the border leading up to the Galwan Valley clash in Ladakh in June 2020, which was one of the most violent clash between the two countries in 45 years. At least 20 Indian soldiers and an unknown number of Chinese army personnel were killed in the violence.
Despite the ongoing military talks to reduce the tensions on the border, China pursued “incremental and tactical actions to press its claims at the LAC” and refuted to withdraw forces until Indian forces were withdrawn, the report said.
