new delhi, Aug 7
Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu on Friday said his government will verify reports of alleged Chinese incursion in the Taksing sector of Upper Subansiri district with the Indian Army and locals before drawing any conclusion. The CM asserted that he does not believe such reports without factual confirmation.
“I have invited members of the Nah Welfare Society (NWS) and will personally verify the matter. I will also speak to the Indian Army and verify the same,” Khandu told reporters on the sidelines of an event here. Expressing confidence in the Army’s deployment along the frontier, the chief minister said the force is effectively carrying out its responsibility of guarding the country’s borders.
The government would ascertain the facts before commenting further, he added.
The chief minister’s remarks came amid allegations by NWS, a local body, that personnel of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) had entered areas near Yaja and Togo villages in Taksing circle close to the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
NWS chairman Keru Chader claimed the Chinese troops had reached locations “almost at our doorstep” and alleged that they had moved to within 15-16 km of the villages through the Ollo stream.
There was no official confirmation about any fresh Chinese incursion in the sector from either the Indian Army or the Centre.
The latest allegations are part of a series of claims made by the Nah Welfare Society since June this year. In June, the organisation submitted a representation to the Upper Subansiri district administration alleging that the PLA had expanded its presence in several strategically important areas around Taksing, including Oying in the Asaphila region, Paniar, Marpan, Portrang and Tingdingtang, and had established military infrastructure there.
The Indian Army had subsequently rejected those allegations, stating that the claims were not backed by facts and that there was no evidence of any fresh Chinese intrusion. The Arunachal Pradesh government has also urged people not to spread unverified information and maintained that security agencies were closely monitoring the border situation.
Situated in the remote Upper Subansiri district, Taksing is one of Arunachal Pradesh’s most strategically sensitive frontier regions bordering China.
