Chinese troops destroy Indian posts in Ladakh again

Two months after the Chinese troops forced their way into Indian territory in Ladakh in April, Hindi-speaking PLA personnel have again intruded into the Chumar sector in Ladakh on 17 June, smashed some bunkers and damaged cameras installed at the border post.

The Chinese troops are continuing their aggressive posture even after Indian Army personnel stopped patrolling the Chumar sector under a bilateral deal between the two countries.

Under the agreement, the Indian troops had dismantled the observation post and defence bunkers. However, the Army had since installed cameras to monitor movement of Chinese troops along the LAC.

This seems to have irked the PLA, which entered Indian territory in the Chumar sector and started vandalising the observation bunkers besides cutting the wires, which overlook the Chinese territory.

PLA claims Chumar, a remote village on Ladakh-Himachal Pradesh border, located 300 km from in Leh, as Chinese territory.

During their incursion into 19km into territory claimed by India in April, the Chinese had demanded Indian troops vacate Chumar as a precondition for removing their own tents from the area.

Chumar is the only place along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) to which Chinese troops have no direct access.

Chumar, a remote village on Ladakh-Himachal Pradesh border, is being claimed by China as its own territory. The Chinese also reportedly resort to helicopter incursions almost every year to intrude into the territory.

The Indian side, on the other hand, has a road almost to the last point on which the Army can carry loads up to nine tonnes.

The Chinese personnel patrolling the area were proficient in Hindi and were reported to have threatened locals asking them to vacate the area, claiming it to be their own.

The Chinese have frequently tried to immobilize the surveillance cameras positioned at the Chumar post by cutting wires in the past.