The Chinese Army transgressed into Indian territory 426 times in 2017, up from 273 times in 2016, the government said on Monday.
Replying to a question in the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Defence Subhash Bhamre said the India-China border has not been “formally demarcated”, because of which both sides had “different perceptions of the Line of Actual Control”. This caused “temporary transgressions”.
The minister said many of these could have been avoided if “we had a common perception of the LAC”.
Answering another question on whether Chinese workers had entered Indian territory while constructing a road near the Arunachal Pradesh border, Bhamre said three Chinese civilians did enter the Indian territory but returned once they saw an Indian Army patrol team. Bhamre said both countries have “established mechanisms” to deal with all border issues.
India and China share a 4,000-km border. Tensions spiked in 2017 after Indian and Chinese troops were locked in a 74-day standoff that ended in August. In December, India and China held their first border talks in New Delhi since the standoff.
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