India to take up incursion issue with Chinese Premier

NEW DELHI: India will take up with Chinese Premier Le Kequiang the issue of the recent intrusion by the People's Liberation Army troops into Depsang valley in Ladakh and wants to push ahead with the bilateral dialogue on settling the border row.

Official sources said today that the the recent standoff over the Chinese intrusion will be taken up with the Premier when he will be here later this month.

By then India would have had the benefit of the consultations External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid would have had with the Chinese leaders on this and other issues during his on-going trip to Beijing, the sources said.

Explaining how New Delhi tackled the recent standoff along the Line of Actual Control, the sources said they were completely at a loss to understand the motives and design behind the Chinese at a time when leaders of both the countries to exchange bilateral visits and there was complete cordiality in relations.

However, they maintained that India stood its ground and made it amply clear to the Chinese side that status quo as of May 19 must be restored and that the Chinese troops must withdraw unconditionally.

The sources denied reports that an army bunker was removed in Chumar area as a concession for the withdrawal of Chinese troops. They maintained that just a tin shed in the area was removed adding, "our bunkers are elsewhere".