A BJP MP from Arunachal Pradesh on Wednesday posted a video on Facebook claiming that Chinese troops had intruded about 100-km inside McMahon Line and constructed a wooden bridge over a stream in the easternmost Anjaw district last month.
"The log wooden bridge constructed in the month of August 2019 by Chinese Army over Doimru Nallah inside Indian Territory near Chaglagam ( Militarily called "Fish Tail") in Anjaw Dist of Arunachal Pradesh," the MP, Tapir Gao posted on Facebook along with the video.
Talking to DH over the phone, Gao later said local residents informed him that the wooden bridge was constructed over Dionru Mala stream at Chaglagam last month but he came to know about it on Tuesday after one of them shared the video with him. "The place is about 56-km from the Anjaw district headquarters and the last administrative post is situated there. This is the place, where an Indo-China patrolling team meeting was held in October last year," Gao said.
He, however, could not tell if there was any army or border forces posted in that area. "It's a very remote and thickly jungled area. I will soon write a letter to the ministry of external affairs seeking the Centre's help on the issue," he said.
Anjaw district, situated at 1,296-meters above sea level at the easternmost part of Arunachal Pradesh shares border with both China and Myanmar. But China claims the entire state as part of its Tibet autonomous region.
Army Denies Incursion
Refuting reports of any incursion, the army on Wednesday evening clarified that there is a differing perception of the alignment of the Line of Actual Control, as in many other areas. "The terrain is thickly vegetated and all movements are undertaken on foot along Nalas and streams. During monsoons whenever the Nalas is in spates, temporary bridges are constructed by the patrols for their movement. Being an area of differing claims, troops from either side routinely patrol the area. It is reiterated that there is no permanent presence of either Chinese soldiers or civilians in the area and surveillance is maintained by our troops," said a statement issued by defence spokesperson based here, Lt. Col. P. Khongsai.
Deputy Commissioner, Anjaw, Dagbom Riba told DH that he was not aware of any intrusion. "If there was any such incident, the army would have informed me." When told about Gao's video about the wooden bridge, he said, "Such things keep happening there. Sometimes Chinese troops construct such bridge, Indian troops destroys. But I have not yet been informed about this yet."