'India to raise Sikkim incursion with China'
India will take up with China the issue of invasion by the People's Liberation Army into its territory along the Line of Actual Control, the government has said.
India on Thursday said it will take up with China at the "appropriate highest level" the issue of recent incursions by the People's Liberation Army (PLA) into its territory along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
"The issue of incursions will be raised at the next flag meeting (between Indian Army and PLA) and also discussed at appropriate highest level. As two responsible neighbours, we will sort it out," Union Minister of State for Defence M M Pallam Raju said in New Delhi.
Raju's comments come in the wake of frequent incursions into Indian territory along the LAC by the PLA. There have been 65 transgressions into Finger Area in Sikkim in the last six months and on June 16, PLA men entered the region in light vehicles and later returned to their territory.
"It is unfortunate that these (incursions in Finger Area) have happened and it (the issue of Sikkim) is being raised again...Sikkim is a closed chapter as far as we are concerned," Raju said in New Delhi on the sidelines of a seminar on 'Indian ways of war fighting' organised by Centre for Joint Warfare Studies (CENJOWS).
On whether India would lodge a formal protest over the PLA's recent incursions, Raju said the issue "will be taken up at an appropriate level".
Get Current Updates on India News, Election 2024, Arvind Kejriwal News Live, Bihar Board 10th Result 2024 Live along with Latest News and Top Headlines from India and around the world.