New Delhi: In yet another incident of Chinese transgressions into Indian territory, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) personnel entered up to a kilometre of Indian territory in Sikkim and returned to their territory after spending some time there.
The transgression took place recently in the Finger Area, which came to limelight in the wake of Chinese claims over the 2.1 sq km of land in north Sikkim, sources said on Wednesday.
The recent move of the PLA seems like an effort on the Chinese part to assert their claims over the area.
Seeking to downplay the incident, Indian Army sources said these transgressions were "a routine affair" in which the PLA personnel violate India's perception of the 4,057-km long Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China.
The PLA men drove light motor vehicles and later returned to Chinese territory, sources said. Though it was believed until recently that the Chinese have reconciled to the idea of Sikkim being a part of India, there have been at least 65 incidents of transgressions reported in the last six months by PLA personnel into the Finger Area of the State, sources said.
Also, there have been reports of over 150 transgressions by the PLA across the LAC last year.
During the recent visit of India's External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee to Beijing, the Chinese reportedly stunned him by raising the issue of Finger Area.
However, Defence Minister A K Antony and the Indian Army establishment have been repeatedly downplaying the transgressions as "misconception over the LAC" on the part of China.
"Just as the Chinese keep transgressing into the Indian territory as per their perception of LAC, Indian Army too keeps patrolling the areas under its control along the LAC," Antony had said recently.
Though ITBP claimed that the present transgression took place in an area that was not under their control, officials said they were not in a position to confirm or deny the incident.
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