Ladakh: Locals Confront Chinese Army Personnel After PLA Blocks Grazing Access Along LAC

A recent video shared on social media has brought to light a tense encounter between the People's Liberation Army (PLA) of China and local nomads in the Kakjung area of Nyoma, eastern Ladakh.

The over nine-minute long video, which is reportedly recorded on 2 January, captures PLA personnel arguing with local nomads and asking them to remove their cattle from the grazing lands along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

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In the video, PLA members are seen in a heated exchange with the nomads, insisting on the relocation of their livestock.

A PLA vehicle, equipped with a siren, is also visible, actively dispersing cattle from the area.

The incident has caught the attention of local politicians in Ladakh.

Konchok Stanzin, a councillor from the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (Leh) representing the Chushul constituency, shared the video link on social media.

The confrontation took place in the Kakjung area, which lies within the Nyoma constituency, adjacent to Chushul.

This region, a vast and largely uninhabited valley along the LAC, serves as a winter grazing ground for nomads from around five to six nearby villages.

The site of the incident is located about seven kilometers from the nearest Indian armed forces base.

"Why are you troubling us unnecessarily? Allow us to graze our animals," a nomad could be heard telling the PLA members.

Both sides can be seen video recording the incident on mobile cameras.

"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 said in a post on X on Tuesday (30 January).

"No doubt that our forces are always with civilians resolving the grazing issues with the PLA, it's all because of their support that our nomads could bravely face the PLA," he added.

This incident comes amid the strained relations between India and China, following the hostile standoff in eastern Ladakh and the violent clashes in the Galwan Valley in 2020.

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