Indian graziers were prevented from grazing their livestock in the Kakjung area of Ladakh along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) by Chinese soldiers earlier this month, according to a video shared by Chushul councillor Konchok Stanzin on X on Tuesday.
In the video shot by locals, local herders can be seen confronting soldiers of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) in the Tibetan language. The herders are also seen throwing rocks at the PLA after the latter asks them to leave Chinese territory.
Stanzin said the incident occurred on 2 January near Patrolling Points (PPs) 35 and 36 at Kakjung, which is part of the Nyoma constituency in Ladakh. While the video shows Chinese soldiers with their vehicles, there is no visible presence of Indian security forces.
It is heartening to see the positive impact made by @firefurycorps_IA
— Konchok Stanzin (@kstanzinladakh) January 30, 2024
in Border areas of Eastern Ladakh in facilitating the graziers & nomads to assert their rights in traditional grazing grounds along the north bank of Pangong.
I would like to thank #IndianArmy for such strong… pic.twitter.com/yNIBatPRKE
However, Ishey Spalzang, the Councillor of Nyoma, told The Hindu that the area is within India’s perception of the LAC. He added that following the PLA’s face-off with locals, the sarpanch, sub-divisional magistrate, officials of the Indian Army, and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) visited the grazing site on 12 January.
“It is a valley and is essential for winter grazing of cattle. Earlier, in 2019, the Chinese had tried to stop the graziers but we had pitched tents to assert our claim. The nearest army unit is present around 5-7 km from this place. That particular day they were not present,” he said. The Councillor further mentioned that the shepherds had started from their village around 20 days before they reached the location.
“See how our local people are showing their bravery in front of the PLA claiming that the area they are stopping is our nomad’s grazing land. PLA stopping our nomads from grazing in our territory. Seems it is never a never-ending process due to different lines of perceptions. But I salute our nomads, who always stand to protect our land and stand as the second guardian force of the nation,” Stanzin posted on X.
He later told The Hindu that the site of the incident is within 1 km of the Indian claim on the disputed border with China. Meanwhile, a defence source told the Indian news outlet that such incidents are common and happen on both sides whenever graziers stray across the LAC on account of differing perceptions of territories. They added that such incidents are dealt with appropriately as per established mechanisms.
Restoration of grazing grounds on both sides is among the top agenda items at the Corps Commander-level talks between India and China, as they work to disengage at two remaining friction points — Demchok and Depsang — and achieve overall de-escalation along LAC in eastern Ladakh.
Both sides are also working to restore patrolling rights and agree on new parameters for patrolling in these two areas to avoid military conflict.