December 13, 2022
JAMMU: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will brief both houses of Indian parliament on the Indian and Chinese troops clashes along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Arunachal Pradesh.
The two armies clashed in the Tawang sector of Arunachal Pradesh on December 9 and the face-off resulted in “minor injuries to a few personnel from both sides”, the Indian Army said on Monday.
The defence minister will brief Lok Sabha at 12 pm Tuesday, and Rajya Sabha at 2 pm, officials said.
Earlier this morning, Chief of Defence Staff, General Anil Chauhan briefed Defence Minister on the obtaining situation along the LAC.
The clash near Yangtse along the LAC in the sensitive sector took place last Friday amid the over 30-month border standoff between the two sides in eastern Ladakh.
“On December 9, PLA troops contacted the LAC in Tawang Sector which was contested by own (Indian) troops in a firm and resolute manner. This face-off led to minor injuries to few personnel from both sides,” the Army said in a statement.
“Both sides immediately disengaged from the area. As a follow up of the incident, own (Indian) commander in the area held a flag meeting with his counterpart to discuss the issue in accordance with structured mechanisms to restore peace and tranquillity,” it said.
The Army statement did not mention the number of troops involved in the face-off and those injured in the incident.
However, a source indicated that there were more than 200 Chinese soldiers involved and they were carrying spiked clubs and sticks, and injuries on the Chinese side could be higher. But there was no official word on the same.
The Army said there are areas of “differing perception” along the LAC in the Tawang sector.
“In certain areas along the LAC in the Tawang Sector in Arunachal Pradesh there are areas of differing perception, wherein both sides patrol the area up to their claim lines. This has been the trend since 2006,” the Army said.
It is the first major clash between the Indian and Chinese armies since August 2020 near Rinchen La in eastern Ladakh.
The clash between Indian and Chinese troops in Tawang sector of Arunachal Pradesh is set to rock Parliament on Tuesday with several Congress MPs demanding a statement from Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the situation at the border.
The Congress MPs have given adjournment notices in both houses of Parliament to discuss the border situation with China.
While Manish Tewari has given a notice in the lower house, Congress leaders Randeep Surjewala and Syed Nasir Hussain have given similar adjournment notices in the upper house.
In his notice, Surjewala said all business of the House be suspended and the “brazen Chinese transgressions and illegal occupations in Indian territory and the Chinese provocation at Tawang sector” be discussed urgently.
He urged Prime Minister Modi and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to make a statement and hold a discussion over the issue in the Rajya Sabha.
Similar unconfirmed reports of Chinese transgressions are coming from Doklam area, he said.
“All these disconcerting reports of Chinese transgressions and illegal occupations require suspension of the business of the House of the day in order to apprise the House and the nation about growing Chinese threat to our national security and territorial integrity.
“Public interest demands that the prime minister and defence minister make a statement in the House and apprise the nation of the Chinese transgressions into Indian territory across the LAC, since April 2020 till date,” Surjewala said in his notice.
Tewari also gave a notice in the Lok Sabha, saying clashes between Indian and Chinese troops in Tawang are “serious” and the House needs to discuss the matter.
“I urge the Government to inform the House of the situation in Tawang, Arunachal Pradesh and the overall border situation with China because it concerns India’s sovereignty and independence,” Tewari said in his notice.
Several other Congress members in the Rajya Sabha, including Rajni Patil, Ranjeet Ranjan, Shaktisinh Gohil and Jebi Mather, also moved similar adjournment notices demanding a discussion on the issue.
