China inscribes huge map onto disputed territory

In a claim to disputed territory, Chinese forces in the contested Fingers region of Ladakh's Pangong Lake have inscribed a massive Mandarin symbol and map of China onto the ground they occupy as tensions persist between the Asian giants after violent clashes earlier in the month.

The inscriptions, located between 'Finger 4' and 'Finger 5' measure approximately 81 metres in length and 25 metres in breadth and are large enough to be clearly spotted by passing imagery satellites, NDTV reported.

'Fingers' in the region refers to the spurs which extend to the banks of the high-altitude Pangong Lake. India believes it has the right to patrol from 'Finger 1' to 'Finger 8' while China believes it has rights to patrol from 'Finger 8' to 'Finger 4'.

At the moment, 'Finger 4' is the boundary between the two sides after violent skirmishes between soldiers of both sides in May.

Meanwhile, China yesterday said it is concerned about India's decision to ban 59 Chinese mobile apps such as Bytedance's TikTok and Tencent's WeChat and was making checks to verify the situation.

India on Monday banned 59, mostly Chinese, mobile apps in its strongest move yet targeting China in the online space since a border crisis erupted between the two nuclear powers this month. In its order, India's technology ministry said the apps were "prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of state and public order".