China's Western Theatre Command Claims Retaliation After Indian Troops Use Bullets on Patrol Team
© REUTERS / Adnan Abidi
ASIA & PACIFIC
19:11 GMT 07.09.2020(updated 02:50 GMT 08.09.2020)Get short URL
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According to People's Liberation Army spokesperson Zhang Shuili, Chinese border defence troops were forced to take countermeasures following what he described as the Indian army illegally crossing the line.
The People's Liberation Army (PLA) said in the statement that Indian troops on Monday fired shots at PLA border patrols
who "made representations" in the God Pao mountain area of Pangong Tso, describing the incident as "serious military provocations of a very bad nature".
According to PLA spokesperson Zhang Shuili, India's actions "
seriously violated the agreements between China and India, pushing up regional tensions and easily causing misunderstandings and misjudgments".
"We request the Indian side to immediately stop dangerous actions, immediately withdraw cross-line personnel, strictly restrain front-line troops, and strictly investigate and punish personnel who fired shots to ensure that similar incidents do not occur again", Zhang stated.
No casualties were reported following the incident.
Top government sources in Delhi
confirmed the firing incident to Sputnik.
Three ridge crests on the southern bank of Pangong Tso were occupied by Indian troops last week, when physical fighting broke out in the region.
This is the first time gunfire has been reported on the Line of Actual Control since 1975. No bullets were fired during the Galwan clash on 15 June, in which 20 Indian soldiers were killed, as the deceased were, instead, reportedly done to death with iron rods.