Tensions are rising between Delhi and Beijing amid reports that Chinese troops kidnapped five Indian civilians in a border state last week.
The allegation was first tweeted on 5 September by an Indian lawmaker from Arunachal Pradesh state.An Indian cabinet minister has since said that a “hotline message” has been sent to the Chinese army.China it yet to respond, but the allegation is likely to further escalate tensions between the nations.
The state lawmaker, Tapir Gao, tweeted that the alleged abduction happened on 3 September near the border. He did not give more details.When a journalist asked cabinet minister Kiren Rijiju about the reports on Twitter, he said the Indian army was waiting to hear from their Chinese counterparts.The abduction allegation comes in the wake of rising tensions between the neighbours.India accused China of provoking military tensions at the border twice within one week in August.
Both charges were denied by Beijing.Indian Home Minister Rajnath Singh met his Chinese counterpart in Moscow on 5 September, but what was meant to be an icebreaker soon turned into a war of words.China said that the border stand-off was “entirely” India’s fault, and that it will not lose “an inch of its territory”.And India accused the Chinese of “amassing of large number of troops, aggressive behaviour and attempts to unilaterally alter the status quo”.
While there has been no fresh violence, minor skirmishes have been reported with analysts describing the situation at the border as fluid since June.Deadly clashes in June between troops on both sides left 20 Indian soldiers dead. There were unconfirmed reports of Chinese casualties.Both countries regularly accuse each other of instigating the fight in the Himalayan region of Ladakh by crossing the border, a poorly demarcated line that snakes through the inhospitable terrain.
BBC
