India, China troops face off near Tawang, retreat

Tribune News Service

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New Delhi, October 8

Military patrol parties of India and China stood face to face for hours just north-east of Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh on September 30.

Both sides insisted on each other to return, said sources, adding that no one was detained, just that patrol parties came face to face and stood their ground. To say one patrol party detained the other would be incorrect. The patrol of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) had 200 men.

The incident happened between Bum La, a 15,200-ft-high pass, and Yangtse, an Indian border outpost 25 km east of Bum La. Things are now back to normal, said the sources. Patrol parties come face to face dozens of times in a year as both sides undertake patrolling up to their line of perception of the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

The LAC is not demarcated on ground and both sides have overlapping claims. Whenever patrols of both sides physically meet, the situation is managed according to established protocols and mechanisms agreed to by both sides. One part of the protocol is unfurling a banner at each other asking the other one to return. “Physical engagement at spot can last for a few hours prior to disengaging,” a source explained.

Both sides stood ground for hours

• Patrol parties of India and China stood face to face for hours near Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh
• The incident took place on Sept 30. Both sides insisted on each other to return
• There were around 200 PLA troops, but the situation is back to normal, say sources