In a significant development, the government on September 16 said that no infiltration has been reported along the India-China border in the last six months. When asked whether cases of infiltration from Pakistan and China has increased during the last six months, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), in a written reply, said, “No infiltration has been reported along Indo-China border during last six months.”
This comes in the wake of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s statement in the Lok Sabha. On September 15, Singh had said that China was in illegal occupation of about 38,000 sq km of Indian land in Ladakh, besides laying claim to around 90,000 sq km of territory in Arunachal Pradesh. About the infiltration bid from Pakistan, MHA stated that there have been 47 attempts from the neighbouring country since February 2020.
Asked about what steps are being taken by the Centre to deal with this problem, the ministry, headed by Amit Shah, said, “The government has adopted a multi-pronged approach to contain cross border infiltration, which inter-alia include multi-tiered deployment along the International border/ Line of Control, improved intelligence and operational coordination, border fencing, deploying technological solutions and taking pro-active action against infiltrators.”
Addressing the Lok Sabha on September 15, Singh had said that it has been conveyed to China, through diplomatic and military channels, that such actions on its part are being seen as attempts to unilaterally alter the status quo in the region.
“India’s position is that while bilateral relations can continue to develop in parallel with discussions on resolving the boundary question, any serious disturbance in peace and tranquillity along the LAC in the border areas is bound to have implications for the positive direction of our ties,” Singh said in the Lok Sabha.
Referring to the Galwan Valley clashes on June 15, the Defence Minister said Indian soldiers “inflicted costs including casualties on the Chinese side”, adding the House should have “full confidence” that the armed forces will always rise to the challenge and make the country proud.
