India monitoring reports on China constructing bridge at Pangong Tso

The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has erected a sizeable number of tents in the Galwan Valley of the Union Territory of Ladakh – an area over which India is sensitive about since the showdown in the 1962 war. In the first week of May, 250 Indian and Chinese soldiers clashed with iron rods, sticks, and even resorted to stone-pelting in the Pangong Tso lake area, partly under Indian control. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)


India, on Thursday, said it was monitoring the situation on the India-China border in the wake of reports that China is constructing a “larger” second bridge in an area held by it around the strategically key Pangong Tso lake in eastern Ladakh.

”We have seen reports on this bridge or a second bridge. We are monitoring the situation. Of course, we always felt it was occupied,” Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said at a media briefing.

He said India has been holding regular talks both at the military and diplomatic levels with China on the ongoing military stand-off at eastern Ladakh. The face-off was also discussed during Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s visit to India earlier this year.

The spokesperson pointed out that External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has already told the Chinese side that frictions and tensions arising from the deployments by China could not be reconciled.

”We will continue to pursue the matter further with China to find a peaceful resolution through talks,” he added.