Chinese troops apprehend Indians in Chumar, first incident on LAC

The headquarters also said that the detained Indian nationals were not army porters as was being speculated but were civilians.

It is learnt that the local Army authorities on both sides established communication on the issue, the sources said.

The incident has come after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh signed the Border Defence Cooperation Agreement with China in October seeking to prevent any flare ups between the armies of the two countries on the LAC.

Defence Minister AK Antony had recently warned that the new border pact does not guarantee that nothing will happen in these areas in future.

Chumar has been one of the most active areas on the LAC in terms of transgressions by the Chinese troops. 

Located 300km from Leh, it has always been an area of discomfort for the Chinese troops as this is the only place along the China-India border where they do not have any direct access to the LAC.