India: No Shots Were Fired at Chinese Border - Defense News

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India: No Shots Were Fired at Chinese Border

By vivek raghuvanshi
Published: 17 Sep 2009 10:31
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NEW DELHI - Defence Ministry officials here said media reports of crossborder firing between Indian and Chinese troops along the neighboring countries' line of control are false.

Senior Indian and Chinese officials are in regular contact to maintain peace along their borders, the Defence Ministry officials said Sept. 17.

Sources in India's External Affairs Ministry said the reports will not interfere with the planned visit of Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama to India's Arunachal Pradesh state. Beijing has opposed the visit, as some parts of Arunachal Pradesh are in disputed territory that China also claims.

India and China fought a brief war in 1962 over their border, which includes the longest contested boundary in the world, and have held a series of talks to resolve the issue. China claims 92,000 square kilometers of Indian territory.

The border is currently defined by a 4,056-kilometer Line of Actual Control (LAC), which is marked neither on the ground nor on mutually accepted maps. Efforts to establish a recognized LAC have been under way since the mid-1980s, but little progress has been made.

India has been increasing its infrastructure, including new roads, along the border. Special troops are being raised for deployment to the area.

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