Even as face-offs persist at some places in Eastern Ladakh between the Armies of India and China, the Chinese soldiers recently stopped Indian shepherds in the Demchok region, claiming it to be their territory.
However, the issue was resolved after intervention of local commanders of the two Armies thereby preventing escalation.
There is a big presence of troops from both the sides in Demchok and talks at the diplomatic and military levels are on to disengage from there.
The latest incident took place on August 21 when the Chinese Army stopped some Indian graziers claiming they were on the Chinese territory. The exact location was near CNN junction in Demchok near the Line of Actual Control (LAC), said sources, adding there was no face-off.
This area has seen such incidents in the past too when Indian herders were prevented by the Chinese from frequenting that section, sources
said.
In 2019, the shepherds were also roughed up. Indian shepherds go there every year as it is the traditional pasture and area for their livestock for grazing.
In the latest incident, the issue was resolved following meetings between local commanders of the two Armies, they said. The shepherds were accompanying their sheep and other livestock when the Chinese stopped them, sources said.
The local commanders from both the sides resolved the issue amicably following laid down protocols between the two countries and agreed to maintain peace and tranquility at the Line of Actual Control (LAC), sources said.
Demchok is a sensitive region as it saw a face-off between the two Armies in 2016 when the Chinese Army objected to the construction of an irrigation canal under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) scheme.
In 2018, the Chinese troops came more than 500 metres inside Indian territory in Demchok and even uprooted tents erected by the Indian shepherds at the grazing ground.