China on Tuesday denied that a Chinese helicopter entered the Indian airspace near Ladakh, and said reports that appeared in the Indian media this past week detailing incursions by Chinese troops along the disputed border were “totally groundless.”
Indian Army Chief General Deepak Kapoor said on Monday that a Chinese helicopter had been spotted over the Indian airspace in Chunar, near Ladakh, in June. He said the incident was one of several violations and had been taken up at a border personnel meet.
Chinese officials on Tuesday said no such incursion had taken place. “The Indian side has accused Chinese helicopters of crossing the border,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Jiang Yu said to in reply to a question from The Hindu on the incident. “We would like to stress that the Chinese border patrols are conducted with strict accordance of rules and would never cross the border either by air or by land.”
Recent reports have also suggested that incursions by Chinese troops along the disputed border had become more frequent.
One report last week said skirmishes between border patrols of both countries had taken place along the border in Sikkim. Both Indian and Chinese officials denied the report.
“Some media in India have also said there were military conflicts,” Ms. Jiang said.
“This is totally groundless. We have reached a consensus that before the dispute is settled, the two sides should safeguard peace and tranquillity on the border.”
India and China held the 13th round of talks to settle the long-running border dispute in New Delhi on August 7 and 8, and officials on both sides have said the talks were positive. But incidents of intrusions along the border continue to be frequently reported.
The Indian government has also played down the reports, suggesting the sporadic intrusions could have been because of different perceptions on both sides of the border of the extent of the Line of Actual Control — the effective demarcation along the disputed border between the two countries.
