Army destroys bunkers as face-off with China ends
08 May 2013
India has reportedly agreed to China's demand and begun demolishing bunkers on its side of the Line of Actual Control in the Himalaya as part of the agreement to end a three-week stand-off in the region that occurred after People's Liberation Army troops occupied positions on the Indian side of the de facto border.
Indian and Chinese soldiers had faced off 100 metres (330 feet) apart on a plateau near Ladakh in the Karakoram mountain range, where they fought a war 50 years ago, till they agreed to pull back.
The tension had jeopardised a scheduled visit by foreign minister S M Krishna to Beijing on 9 May, followed by China Premier Li Keqiang's visit to Delhi later this month.
China denies that it had crossed into Indian territory.
Details of the withdrawal deal have not been made public but reports that India has agreed to destroy its bunkers in the Chumar sector, further south along the disputed border, were today confirmed.
"The bunkers in Chumar were dismantled after we acceded to Chinese demand in the last flag meeting. These bunkers were live-in bunkers," an Army officer told Reuters.
India said up to 50 Chinese soldiers intruded into its territory on the western rim of the Himalayas on 15 April. The incursion was widely seen in India as a sign of Chinese concern about increased Indian build-up on its side of the LAC.
China won the border war they fought in 1962, which soured relations for decades, but ties between the Asian giants have been improving in recent years. China is India's top trade partner.
India has been beefing up its military presence for several years on the remote Ladakh plateau, building roads and runways to catch up with Chinese development across the border in the disputed area of Aksai Chin.
