China Dismisses Military Links to NSCN-K

China on Wednesday dismissed as “completely groundless” the media reports accusing its army officials of having links with a militant group involved in an attack on Indian troops in Manipur that left 18 soldiers dead.

“Relevant report is completely groundless,” Foreign Ministryspokesman Hong Lei said in response to an e-mail query from a news
agency. “The Chinese government consistently upholds non- interference in other country’s internal affairs, and will not support any
anti-government forces in any country,” he said.

In one of the worst attacks in two decades, insurgents last week had ambushed a military convoy in Manipur, killing at least 18 army personnel and injuring 11 others. Hitting back at rebels, special forces of the Indianarmy yesterday carried out a surgical strike inside Myanmar, killing nearly 20 insurgents.

Elite commandos of the Indian Army also went a few kilometers inside the Myanmar territory to destroy two camps of insurgents hiding there after their attacks in Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh last week by NSCN (K) and KYKL outfits. Earlier, officials from state-run think-tanks refuted allegations of China’s army assisting militants in northeast India, saying such charges are “absurd”. Any
claim that People’s Liberation Army (PLA) officers may be in touch with the leaders of (NSCN-K) is “absurd”, state-run Global Times reported quoting officials of the government-run think-tanks.

Experts believe that the existence of ties between the PLA and Indian militants is impossible, the report said. Earlier, reports in Indian media quoted a senior Indian official as saying that NSCN-K abrogated its ceasefire pact with the Centre following instructions from PLA. “The Indian media has long been a rumour monger when it comes to China’s support for the insurgent groups in north eastern India,” said Zhao Gancheng, director of the Centre for Asian-Pacific Studies at the state-run Shanghai Institutes for International Studies. “A connection between China and the Indian rebels is impossible, especially after India and China resumed diplomatic relationships in 1988,” he said.

Li Li, deputy director of the Institute of South and Southeast Asian and Oceania Studies at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, termed such reports as “absurd”. “It is impossible for China to intervene in the domestic affairs of India, especially when the two countries’ relationship is developing very well after (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi’s visit (last month),” Li added.