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Chinese troops have entered Indian territory, New Delhi says

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India has accused China of dispatching soldiers far into its territory in the western part of the Ladakh region of Indian-administered Kashmir.

Indian Defense Secretary Shashikant Sharma and other military officials said in a report, which was presented to a parliamentary watchdog on Friday, that Chinese troops advanced nearly 19 kilometers into Indian territory on April 15, the Press Trust of India (PTI) reported.

The Indian defense secretary also told MPs attending the meeting that New Delhi has deployed troops in the disputed region to “keep a close watch on the border.”

“The officials told the committee that Indian army patrols reported on April 16 the presence of Chinese People’s Liberation Army pitching tents 19 kilometers inside the LAC (Line of Actual Control),” PTI quoted a source as saying.

The LAC is the de facto boundary between China and India that runs across the Himalayas.

On Thursday, Indian Foreign Minister Salman Khurshid said he would visit China on May 8, adding that New Delhi and Beijing had a mutual interest in not allowing the row to “destroy” long-term progress in relations.

Meanwhile, an Indian Foreign Ministry official stated on Friday that Chinese Premier Li Keqiang would travel to New Delhi in late May.

Talks between the two countries have so far failed to resolve the dispute in the western part of the Ladakh region of Indian-administered Kashmir.

Indian officials claimed that a platoon of Chinese troops set up a camp inside Indian territory on April 15.

India demanded the Chinese soldiers pull out, but several meetings between local army commanders and diplomats from both sides have failed to break the impasse. China has denied any wrongdoing.

India and China have had uneasy relations since 1962, when they fought a war in the Himalayan regions of Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh.

China claims about 90,000 square kilometers of land in Arunachal Pradesh, but New Delhi says Beijing is occupying 38,000 square kilometers of Indian territory on the Aksai Chin plateau.

India and China have held 15 rounds of talks to resolve their border dispute since 1962 but have been unable to resolve the issue.

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