China claims Indian Army 'fired warning shots' near Pangong Tso; takes 'countermeasures'

Amid the tensed situation between India and China along the LAC, an incident of firing took place on Monday on the Line of Actual Control in Eastern Ladakh sector where the troops of the Indian Army and the Chinese PLA have been engaged in a stand-off for over three months, ANI quoting its sources said on Tuesday. The Indian Army has not released any official statement yet.

'India again illegally crossed the LAC': China

Meanwhile, the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) mouthpiece Global Times has claimed that the Indian troops "again illegally crossed the Line of Actual Control (LAC) on Monday and outrageously fired warning shots on Chinese border patrol soldiers who were about to negotiate." A Chinese military spokesperson added that the Chinese troops were "forced to take countermeasures to stabilize the situation."

"The Indian troops crossed the LAC at the west section of the China-India border, into the Shenpao mountain region near the south bank of Pangong Tso Lake," said Senior Colonel Zhang Shuili, a spokesperson of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Western Theater Command, in a statement.

"The Indian side's move seriously violated related agreements reached by both sides, stirred up tensions in the region, and would easily cause misunderstandings and misjudgments, which is a serious military provocation and is very vile in nature," the spokesperson said.

"We demand the Indian side to immediately stop dangerous moves, withdraw personnel who crossed the LAC at once, strictly control frontline troops, seriously investigate and punish the person who fired the provocative shot and ensure similar incidents won't take place again," Zhang added.

READ | US Election 2020: Biden rejects Trump aide's China claim, pitches Russia as biggest threat

India-China LAC faceoff 

Tensions flared in eastern Ladakh after China unsuccessfully attempted to occupy Indian territory in the Southern Bank of Pangong lake last week when the two sides were engaged in diplomatic and military talks to resolve the festering border row. India occupied a number of strategic heights on the southern bank of Pangong lake and strengthened its presence in Finger 2 and Finger 3 areas in the region to thwart any Chinese actions. China has strongly objected to India's move.

READ | China says 'no details on abduction' after Indian Army dials PLA about 5 Arunachal teens

India has maintained that the border tension in Ladakh over the past four months is a "direct result" of Chinese actions aimed at effecting unilateral change in the status quo of the region and asserted that the only way forward to resolve it was through negotiations. At an online media briefing, MEA Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said the Chinese actions resulted in "violation" of the bilateral agreements and protocol which ensured peace and tranquillity in the border areas for close to three decades.

READ | '8 Apple factories have shifted to India from China, Samsung already here': IT Minister

The talks between the two sides have been going on for the last three months including five Lieutenant general-level talks but have failed to yield any results, so far.

READ | Chinese mouthpiece provokes within 24 hours of China-Rajnath meeting; Swamy lashes out

(With agency inputs)