NEW DELHI: India on Thursday said the area where China is building a second bridge across the strategic Pangong Lake is perceived as an “occupied area”, and tensions arising from Chinese deployments since April 2020 “cannot be reconciled with a normal relationship”.

The Indian side has conveyed its expectations regarding the military standoff on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) to the Chinese side, including foreign minister Wang Yi, and will continue to take the matter forward in order to find a solution though talks, external affairs ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said.

Bagchi made the remarks while responding to several questions at a weekly news briefing on the second bridge being built between the north and south banks of Pangong Lake. Bagchi indicated there was some lack of clarity on whether this was a second bridge or an expansion and widening of an existing bridge, and said the defence ministry was better placed to speak about details and implications of the structure