Ladakh Standoff | 'No Infiltration Along India-China Border In Past 6 Months': MHA In Rajya Sabha

India China Border Dispute: Even as Minister of State Home Affairs Nityanand said there has been no infiltration along Indo-China border, defence minister Rajnath Singh came out strongly against Beijing saying it has been a serial violator of bilateral agreements.

New Delhi: Amid the ongoing Indo-China border dispute in which the latter has been trying to fortifying its presence along the LAC since April-May, Union Minister Nityanand Rai on Wednesday informed the Rajya Sabha that no infiltration has been reported along the India-China border during the last six months. 

As per the news agency ANI, the Minister of State (MoS) Home Affairs stated this in a written reply to a query posed by MP Dr Anil Agrawal in the Rajya Sabha over the issue of infiltration from both Pakistan and China increasing in the past six months.

Meanwhile, Rajnath Singh in his speech, during the second day of the monsoon session of Parliament on September 15 came out strongly against Beijing saying it has been a serial violator of bilateral agreements, as per the India Today. The leader stated the official government line that China “continues to be in illegal occupation of approximately 38,000 sq. km in the Union territory of Ladakh” but, did not directly named the territory as Aksai Chin.

The tension between both the countries escalated after 20 soldiers were killed on June 15 in the Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh during violent clashes with China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) troops.

However, the media reports have painted a contradictory picture. As per the report in national daily the Hindu, around 1,000 square kilometres of area in Ladakh along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) is now under Chinese control. As per the report, about 20 sq. km in Galwan Valley and 12 sq. km in Hot Springs area is said to be under Chinese occupation. Also, in Pangong Tso, the area under Chinese control is 65 sq. km, while in Chushul it is 20 sq. km.

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According to the response of the BJP minister, 47 attempted infiltration along the India-Pakistan border were made during the last six months. The infiltration bids were made in the following months February (0), March (4), April (24), May (8), June (0), July (11), respectively.

"The government has adopted a multi-pronged approach to contain cross border infiltration, which inter-alia includes multi-tiered deployment along the International border/Line of Control, improved intelligence and operational coordination, border fencing, deploying technological solutions and taking pro-active action against infiltrators," Rai further said.

The Monsoon session of the Parliament began on Monday and is scheduled to continue till October 1.