NEW DELHI: China's border defence troops have increased control measures in the Ladakh region in response to India's "recent, illegal construction of defence facilities" across the border "into Chinese territory," according to a report on the website of Beijing-based Global Times on Monday.

Indian troops have been crossing the boundary line since early May in the Galwan Valley region--in the contested Aksai Chin area--and "entering Chinese territory," the report said. In response to this, the Chinese side has strengthened its own positions, the report added citing an unnamed source said.

"The Indian side built defense fortifications and obstacles to disrupt Chinese border defence troops' normal patrol activities, purposefully instigated conflicts and attempted to unilaterally change the current border control situation," the report quoted the unnamed source as saying.

“The Galwan Valley region is Chinese territory, and the local border control situation was very clear. The actions by the Indian side have seriously violated China and India's agreements on border issues, violated China's territorial sovereignty and harmed military relations between the two countries," the report said.

There was no comment from the Indian side on Monday’s report.

But last week, Indian media reports had said Indian and Chinese troops were engaged in physical combat in two places along their disputed border in north Sikkim and in Ladakh. The Indian side had confirmed the two incidents as well as a third in which Indian Air Force had conducted sorties by its Sukhoi-30 fighter jets close to the un-demarcated border in response to the Chinese side flying helicopters on their side.

India, in a statement, had attributed the incidents to borders not being delineated since 1962 when both sides went to war that ended badly for India. Many rounds of talks have failed to yield a solution to the border problem though both sides have signed agreements in 1993, 1996, 2005, and 2013 to stabilise the border and maintain peace between the two countries.

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