Chinese troops have transgressed LAC: BJP leader from Arunachal

Chinese troops have transgressed the Line of Actual Control and had intruded about 60 km inside Arunachal Pradesh, a BJP leader from the state said Sunday. Indian Army officers, however, did not confirm this and said there were differences in perception of the LAC and both sides patrol the area accordingly.

Kiren Rijiju, a former Bharatiya Janata Party MP from Arunachal Pradesh, said that Indian and Chinese forces were locked in a face-to-face situation in Anjaw district of the state.

"The Chinese troops have erected tents and are carrying miliatry equipment. According to information from our party workers, they have managed to intrude about 60 km inside our territory," Rijiju told IANS.

Rijiju said that the intrusion began Aug 13 and the Chinese troops had been able to come deep inside. He said the Army was not permanently deployed in the area and Indo-Tibetan Border Police was looking after the security of the area.

"It is a major intrusion. The government should immediately talk to China and ask it to pull back its troops," Rijiju said.

He said that Indian and Chinese troops were near Plamplam post, about 60 km from the LAC.

Rijiju, a memer of BJP national executive, said Chinese troops were about 20 km from Chaglagam, an administrative centre where the Arunachal Pradesh government has posted its officials.

Indian Army officers, however, did not say if there was an intrusion.

They said there was a difference of perception of the LAC and added that both sides go on long patrols according to their perception of the boundary.

There have been a spate of Chinese intrusions in the past few months.

Chinese troops had ptiched tents in the Ladakh sector of Jammu and Kashmir in April and had pulled back after 21 days following flag meetings and talks at the official level.

Indian and Chinese forces were "face-to-face" in the Chumar sector of Ladakh after Chinese troops transgressed into the Indian side on June 17 and took away a surveillance camera, which they later returned.