Chinese troops stop Indian graziers in Ladakh’s Demchok

No face-off took place between India, China forces: defence official

Indian graziers were stopped by the Chinese army at Demchok in Ladakh on August 21, a senior government official said. 

According to the official, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) objected to the presence of graziers within India’s perception of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) near Saddle Pass at CNN junction in Demchok. The incident was followed by a couple of meetings between the commanders of the Indian Army and the Chinese PLA to resolve the issue. 

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The graziers have been frequenting the area and there was a minor scuffle in 2019 also, said the official.

“This time when the graziers went with the livestock, the Chinese objected that this was their territory. The issue was raised with the Chinese,” the official said.

A defence source said there was no face-off between the two armies. “It was a routine interaction between local commanders on the ground level to resolve issues at the local level to prevent escalation and maintain peace and tranquility on the LAC. This keeps happening regularly all along the LAC as part of the agreed protocols,” the source said.

Another official added that India and China are engaged in eye-ball to eye-ball positions in the area since April 2020. Many areas in the sector have become “no patrolling zones” post-Galwan incident on June 15, 2020, when as many as 20 Indian soldiers were killed in violent clashes with the Chinese PLA.