The Chinese have erected tents on the Indian side of the Charding Nala in Demchok in eastern Ladakh, senior government officials said.
The officials described the people occupying these tents as “so-called civilians”, and said that even though India has been asking them to go back, “their presence remains”.
Demchok has seen face-offs between Indian and Chinese troops earlier too. The two sides had agreed that Demchok and Trig Heights were disputed points on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) during meetings of the India-China joint working groups (JWG) back in the 1990s.
Later, following the exchange of maps, 10 areas of differing perception of the LAC were recognised: Samar Lungpa, Depsang Bulge, Point 6556, Changlung Nala, Kongka La, Pangong Tso north bank, Spanggur, Mount Sajun, Dumchele, and Chumar.
Besides these 12 areas that are either mutually agreed as disputed or where the two sides have differing perceptions of where the LAC lies, five friction points have been added to the LAC in eastern Ladakh over the last year, after the current stand-off began, officials said.
These five friction points are KM120 in the Galwan Valley, PP15 and PP17A in the Shyok Sula area, Rechin La, and Rezang La, officials said.
China had proposed the 12th round of Corps Commander-level talks on Monday, but India, which observes July 26 as Kargil Day to commemorate the victory over Pakistan in the 1999 Kargil War, asked for the discussions to be postponed by a few…
