India-China clash in Tawang: Chinese say situation 'stable,' Rajnath confirms encroachment

A day after reports of the India-China standoff emerged, China said the situation was stable on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and that Indian troops had crossed the border "illegally." The Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also confirmed today, December 13, the reports about the standoff in the Tawang region of Arunachal Pradesh and said "PLA soldiers have retreated to their own locations."  A few soldiers were injured in the face-off but no Indian soldier had died, Rajnath Singh said in his speech in the Lok Sabha today.

Colonel Long Shaohua, spokesperson for the Western Theater of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, said their routine patrol in the Dongzhang area "was blocked by the Indian Army illegally crossing the line. We should deal with it professionally and effectively, and stabilise the situation on the ground." He said both sides had disengaged at the moment.

This allegation comes after Rajnath Singh on December 9 said the China PLA troops "encroached upon and attempted to change the status quo" in the Yangtse area of the Tawang sector. "This attempt was tackled by our troops in a determined manner. Our troops bravely stopped the PLA from encroaching upon our territory and forced them to go back to their post," he added.

According to an ANI report, Chinese drones had moved very aggressively towards the Indian positions on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Arunachal Pradesh, forcing the Indian Air Force (IAF) to scramble its fighter aircrafts deployed in the region.

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"In the last few weeks, there have been two to three occasions where our fighter jets had to be scrambled to tackle the Chinese drones moving towards our positions on the LAC. The Su-30MKI jets had to be scrambled to tackle the air violation threat," defence sources told ANI.

The sources said if the drones fly parallel to the LAC, the Indian side does not have any issues with it. "But if the aircrafts or drones are picked up by radars flying towards Indian territory, necessary actions have to be taken to prevent any violation," they said.

Following the incident, a "flag meeting" was held on December 11 and the Chinese side "were instructed not to change status quo unilaterally." Meanwhile, Colonel Long Shaohua's statement on December 13 said, "We ask the Indian side to strictly control and restrain the front-line troops, and work with China to maintain peace and tranquility on the border."