The number of Chinese troops along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) has declined 30 percent this year, The Hindu reported quoting a senior government official. He added that Chinese troops have been substituted by ‘powerful surveillance equipment’.
The official also said that intrusions by the Chinese forces at the border has seen a 10 percent decline in 2018.
WHAT THE NUMBERS SAY
The decline in itself is significant because in 2017, the number of incidents rose to 426 from 273 in 2016.
Till July this year, there were about 150 incidents of intrusion reported.
Before this, the highest number of transgressions by the Chinese was in 2012 when, again, the number of recorded incidents was 426.
WHAT IS THE REASON FOR LESSER INTRUSIONS?
The government official told The Hindu that the number of Chinese transgressions dropped after the 73-day standoff between the Indian and the Chinese People's Liberation Army in Doklam last year. He said that while transgressions still take place because of “the difference in perception of the actual boundary”, there has been a dip in their number due to the “diplomatic manoeuvering and dialogue” post the Doklam standoff.
He added that many incidents of transgressions at the border go unrecorded. The troops on both sides are also communicating more and sorting out the differences rather than report them.
The 30 percent dip in the number of Chinese troops might also have a part to play here.
WHAT ARE THE DISPUTED AREAS?
Out of the 19 incidents recorded in August, as The Hindu reports, 13 took place in the Leh sector, three were reported in Leh, Uttarakhand's Barahoti and in Arunachal Pradesh's Asaphila.
(With inputs from The Hindu and PTI.)
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