There was no transgression by China at Demchok sector recently when banners were waved during a local festival on the Indian side along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) , Army chief Gen. Bipin Rawat said on Saturday.
“Celebrations were going on at our side and to see this, some Chinese also came opposite. There was no intrusion,” Gen. Rawat said, adding there were differing perceptions on the LAC and both sides conducted patrols accordingly.
The current issue was raised with the Chinese during the flag meeting and it had been resolved, he stated. He was speaking to the media on the sidelines of a commemorative seminar on the 20th anniversary of the Kargil conflict, organised by the Centre for Land Warfare Studies.
On July 6, during a local festival on the Indian side called Doley Tango to mark the birthday of the Dalai Lama, about 11-12 people were seen waving banners from the Chinese side, which read “ban all activity to split Tibet.”
To questions whether those people were Chinese civilians or soldiers, Gen. Rawat said, “They were civilians who came in and obviously when civilians come in the Chinese [soldiers] will accompany them. Nobody would want civilians to the border without their activity being monitored. Both sides will continue to monitor the activity of civilians along the LAC and even LoC.”
“We have a very good working relationship with the Chinese,” he added.
Defence sources said that the people were in civil clothes and were there for about 40 minutes. This was across the other bank of the Indus river, along which the LAC runs in the region.
