New Delhi/Beijing, September 15: Amid smearing tensions with India at the Lince of Actual Control (LAC), China has denied setting up 5G networks along the Indian border. Last month, a number of media houses reported that China was secretly establishing 5G networks along the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh. These reports resurfaced after the recent investigation by The Indian Express, where it exposed how a private Chinese data-mining company was snooping on hundreds of India. India-China Border Stand-Off: Chinese Troops' Attempts to Unilaterally Alter Status Quo in Violation of Bilateral Agreements, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh Tells Beijing.

According to Sputnik News, the Chinese Foreign Ministry's spokesperson Wang Wenbin has rejected the reports of People's Liberation Army establishing 5G networks along the Indian border, describing them as "not true". The Times of India had reported in late August that the PLA had been setting up barracks and other structures, including communication networks with optical fibres at a flashpoint along the LAC in the Galvan valley.

India and China are engaged in a four-month-long standoff at the LAC in eastern Ladakh. Despite several levels of dialogue, there has not been any breakthrough and the deadlock continues. During an unprecedented face-off between Indian and Chinese troops in Galwan valley in Ladakh on June 15, 20 Indian soldiers were killed. Earlier this month, the Indian Army said that Chinese troops fired in the air during a face-off on their tense de facto border.

Amid tension, an investigative report by The Indian Express on Monday revealed that a China-based technology company with links to the Chinese Communist Party is snooping on hundreds of Indians, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress lawmaker Rahul Gandhi, former Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar and self-styled god woman Radhe Maa.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 15, 2020 01:51 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).