Shrikant Kondapalli, an expert on China affairs, today expressed his concern about the fresh Chinese incursion into Indian territory, and claimed that this could be a message given by the Chinese troops to its President, Xi Jinping, that no fruitful discussion on the boundary issue be held with the Indian leadership during his official trip.
"It is not clear exactly what is happening in the Line of Actual Control (LoAC) areas. If the reports about 5000 troops are correct then I think that the People's Liberation Army (PLA) and the People's Armed Police Force are sending signal to the civilian leadership not to have any fruitful discussions on the border dispute while President Xi Jinping is speaking to Prime Minister Modi in New Delhi today," Kondapalli told ANI.
The expert on Chinese affairs expressed fear about the Chinese now repeatedly doing incursions into this area which was unheard of till six-seven years ago.
"Chumar area is an extended claim area, meaning that six -seven years ago the Chinese never claimed this area in a formal way. We did not see also any transgressions in this area six-seven years ago," he said.
"It is only for the last six-seven years that the PAPF and PLA patrols are moving more closely into this region and this is of concern to India. Because the Chinese have vindicated that the Chinese are inconsistent with their position on the border dispute. They suddenly wake up and claim this area ; this is not a responsible attitude," he added.
Kondapalli also felt there could be another reason behind the Chinese incursion.
"There is also a signaling that the PLA and the PAPF are trying to say that they matter more in the decision making process. It is not exactly clear because Xi Jinping is the only civilian leader in the Central Military Commission (CMC) which controls all these areas. Actually, actually the local level commanders control these areas," he added.
" There is hardly any civilian control in the Line of Actual Control areas as the Chinese perceive. So, in other words, there is no transparency in the Chinese decision making process. So it is not clear why they have moved into this area," he further added.
According to reports that the Chinese troops made fresh intrusions into the Indian territory in Ladakh this morning, even as both the nations held a flag meeting on Wednesday to discuss the situation in Chumar which proved inconclusive.
Last week, there were reports that some Chinese troops had intruded 500 meters into the Indian territory and put up tents.
The Chinese troops had reportedly entered almost 25 kilometers in the area of Burtse in Ladakh in August this year.
These incursions come at a time when the Chinese President Xi Jinping is on a three-day state visit to India.
