File photo of Indian soldiers along the India-China border.
Chinese troops made a fresh attempt to violate the border with India in Chumar area in Ladakh on Sunday and retreated only after ITBP and Army jawans formed a human wall to block their incursion bid.
Chumar, located 300 km east of Leh, has been an epicentre of heightened activities of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) who had been making increased attempts to enter through this region, official sources said today.
Giving details of the incursion bid, the sources said that nine PLA soldiers first reached the border area at 0700 hours on March 16 and were stopped by the jawans which was followed by the customary banner drill.
However, in no time 10 more PLA personnel arrived on the scene riding horses and joined their colleagues to make attempts to move ahead into the Indian territory.
Chinese troops made repeated assertions that it was their territory and they were headed towards to Tible area, five km deep into the Indian territory, the sources said.
Explaining their action, the troops told the Indian jawans that they were ordered by the PLA headquarters to conduct a reconnaissance in Tible area, the sources added.
However, more Indian troops joined in and Chinese troops made a retreat by 0900 hours the same day, the sources said.
During the onset of winter, Chumar has witnessed frequent incursion attempts by the Chinese troops who also have been adopting 'assertive posturing'. This area has a defined International Border with China.
On earlier occasions this year, Chinese troops had even attempted to break a human wall of Indian jawans during the banner drill.
Chumar has been an issue for China which claims it to be its own territory and have been frequenting it with helicopter incursions almost every year. In 2012, it dropped some of the soldiers of PLA in this region and dismantled the makeshift storage tents of the Army and ITBP.
The area is not accessible from the Chinese side whereas the Indian side has a road almost to the last point on which the Army can carry loads up to nine tonnes.
Chumar had become a flash point during the fortnight long stand-off last year in Daulat Beg Oldie (DBO) last year as the Chinese side had objected to overhead bunkers erected by the Indian side. As part of an agreement reached at the flag meeting to end the stand-off from April-May 2013 at DBO, Indian side had to dismantle some overhead bunkers in Chumar.
Again, Chumar witnessed Chinese troops walking away with an Army surveillance camera on June 17 which was meant for keeping an eye on the PLA troops patrolling there. The same camera was returned after a few days.