China's efforts to bring citizens back from India have nothing to do with border tension: Global Times

Global Times, considered Chinese government's mouthpiece, has said that the “voluntary repatriation plan” should be seen a “normal service” and should not be linked to the ongoing border tension.

Days after reports suggested that China was arranging special flights to fly home its citizens stranded in India due to the coronavirus lockdown, state-run Global Times said the “voluntary repatriation plan” should be seen as a “normal service” provided by the embassy.

The newspaper, considered the Chinese government’s mouthpiece, said: “Some Indian media outlets have intentionally linked the normal operation to the recent border tension between China and India in the Galwan Valley region, fuelling a new round of irresponsible speculation that China may be preparing for an escalation of the border disputes.”

The report further added that the Chinese government’s plan was “entirely justifiable” as it was meant to “help its citizens return to their home country, given the difficulties in the aviation industry.”

The development comes amid escalating tension between India and China along the border. Reports suggest that Chinese has bolstered its presence in the Galwan Valley of in eastern Ladakh by erecting around 100 tents in the last two weeks and bringing in heavy equipment for construction of bunkers, notwithstanding the stiff protest by Indian troops.

In the midst of the escalating tension, Indian Army Chief General MM Naravane had paid a quiet visit to the headquarters of 14 Corps in Leh on May 22 and reviewed with the top commanders the overall security scenario in the region including in the disputed areas along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) — the de-facto border between the two countries.

On May 26, President Xi Jinping ordered the Chinese military to scale up the battle preparedness, visualising the worst-case scenarios and asked them to resolutely defend the country's sovereignty. It was unclear if the comments were linked to the rising tensions between India and China.

The situation in eastern Ladakh deteriorated after around 250 Chinese and Indian soldiers engaged in a violent face-off on the evening of May 5 that extended into the next day before the two sides agreed to "disengage" following a meeting at the level of local commanders. Over 100 Indian and Chinese soldiers were injured in the violence.

The incident in Pangong Tso was followed by a similar incident in North Sikkim on May 9.

Last week, local commanders of both the sides held at least five meetings during which the Indian side took strong note of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) erecting large numbers of tents in areas in the Galwan Valley which India felt belonged to its side of the LAC.

On May 25, Global Times had reported that China’s defence forces were likely to the country’s first domestically-developed unmanned plateau-focused helicopter along the Indian border.

Also read | China plans missions along India border with first plateau-focused unmanned helicopter: Report

The AR500C unmanned helicopter is capable of conducting reconnaissance missions, communication relay, electronic disruption and fire strike at high altitudes.

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