“Media is carrying reports about an intrusion in Barahoti. Incidents of similar nature have happened in the past but are normally sorted out locally and should not be given undue importance,"government sources said.

The clarification by New Delhi is being seen as an attempt to ensure that the reported intrusion was not blown out of proportion by either side against the backdrop of the ongoing tense stand-off at Doklam.

The India-China border has not been delineated and, therefore, such transgressions by troops from the two countries have taken place on several occasions in the past as well.

 In the 25 July incident, Chinese troops are believed to have asked a group of shepherds to vacate the land.

However, significance is being attached to the timing of the transgression as it took place when India and China are involved in a war of nerves since the stand-off at Doklam came to light on June 16.

In July last year also, two Chinese soldiers entered 200 metres into the Barholi area of Uttarakhand. At that time, then Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said the border had not been demarcated and the two sides had “different perceptions” about it. Therefore, India called the incident one of “transgression” and not “incursion”.

Beijing cautioned: A premier Chinese daily on Monday cautioned Beijing that the protracted row over the Doklam incident could threaten its ambitious trade and infrastructure outreach plan: the ‘Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)’.

The South China Morning Post quoted Chinese experts as saying that Beijing’s ‘hardball’ politics were pushing New Delhi further away and could end up making it an enemy.

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