Chandigarh: Amidst the prolonged stand-off at Doklam, the Chinese troops recently made a second transgression into Indian territory.
The second incursion has been reported to be made into the middle-section of the Indo-Tibet border, comprising border areas of Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Uttar Pradesh (UP), at Barahoti in Uttrakhand’s Chamoli district on July 25 at about 9 am. The Doklam stand-off between India and China began on June 16.
As the name signifies, Barahoti is a biggish, around 80 square kilometers pasture around 150 kilometers from Uttrakhand’s capital Dehradun. The pastureland is used both by shepherds from India and China to graze their livestock. India’s capital city New Delhi is around 250 kilometers by road from Dehradun.
As per reports, as many as 10 soldiers are said to have entered one kilometer inside the Indian territory on the July 25. The Chinese soldiers are said to have threatened the local shepherds to vacate the area claiming it to be Chinese territory.
In the past, Chinese troops have been known to cross over and write ‘China’ on rocks in the Chamoli district. These kind of border incursions have been locally sorted out in the past, but the present instance has assumed significance due to the Doklam issue.
Barahoti is a demilitarized zone, an area in dispute after the 1962 war, where the Indo-Tibet Border Police (ITBP) jawans go on patrol with their guns held upside down.
This area has also seen aerial transgressions and infiltration by foot patrols in 2013 and 2014.
The present standoff between India and China emerged after New Delhi expressed its apprehension over Beijing’s road construction in the Sikkim sector of the border.
Consequently, China suspended the annual Kailash Manasarovar yatra and conceded that the decision to suspend the pilgrimage was due to the border scuffle.
(With inputs from agencies)