File photo of India-china border in Ladakh
The government today came under attack in Parliament over a report that Chinese troops occupied 640 kilometres of Indian territory in April, near the border in north-east Ladakh.
"This government is useless. Are you prepared to tackle China?" Samajwadi Party Chief Mulayam Singh Yadav asked the ruling Congress in the Lok Sabha. "Forget rising prices, scams...save our borders."
Stating that Defence Minister AK Antony would give a statement in both Houses, Parliamentary affairs Minister Kamal Nath responded, "this government is neither weak nor useless. We have nothing to hide."
The main Opposition BJP said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh should take it up with Chinese president Xi Jinping during the ongoing G-20 summit.
Some media reports have alleged that a committee headed by former Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran visited Ladakh last month and concluded that Indian troops are cut off from the border and are being prevented by the Chinese army from patrolling near Daulat Beg, where India has built one of the world's highest landing strips.
The National Security Advisory Board or NSAB, which is headed by Mr Saran, has denied reporting any loss of territory to China.
In April, the Indo-Tibetan Border Police or ITBP, which patrols the border with China had told the government that 640 square km in Rakinala in north-east Ladakh had been inaccessible to Indian troops because of a large incursion by the Chinese army. Several dozen Chinese soldiers had set up a remote camp 18-19 km inside Indian territory at Daulat Beg Oldie.
The ITBP reported that they had resumed patrolling the area after Chinese troops withdrew.
Small incursions are common across the Line of Actual Control (LAC), the de facto border that runs some 4,000 km across the Himalayas, but it is rare for either country to set up camp so deep within disputed territory.