Videos on Twitter may hamper LAC talks

Ajay Banerjee

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 31

After the skirmishes between troops of India and China along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Eastern Ladakh, the ‘war’ now is on Twitter where a video and picture of each other’s troops being beaten up threatens to make the ongoing negotiations tough for either side.

The new kind of ‘war’ emerged this morning with videos showing uniformed personnel, clearly Indian troops, along the bank of a lake attacking a Chinese military armoured vehicle. A soldier (possibly a Chinese trooper) is seen lying on the ground, injured. An Indian uniformed man is seen trying to kick him. Another man in uniform and a bullet-proof jacket protects the injured man.

These videos, first circulating on WhatsApp, were later tweeted by India-based handles, chiding not just China but also its ally Pakistan. An Indian Army spokesperson said the contents of the video were not authenticated. “Attempts to link it to the situation in Ladakh are mala fide. No violence is happening,” he said. The Army has requested the media not to air the visuals that are “likely to vitiate the current situation on the borders”.

A senior functionary admitted that the videos could make it tough for the negotiators on either side. The Defence Minister had yesterday said that the existing mechanism to resolve such issues had been set in motion. Attempts to hold talks notwithstanding, the troop strength and military posturing along the LAC remains as before. Tanks, artillery and equipment besides air assets are lined up on either side, said sources.

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The Chinese have unilaterally stopped Indian troops from patrolling crucial areas between ‘Finger-2’ and ‘Finger-4’ along the north bank of Pangong Tso (a 135-km glacial melt lake). The Chinese have also intruded along the confluence of the Shyok and Galwan rivers in sub-sector north (SSN) close to the 255-km Darbuk-Shyok-DBO road.