New Delhi
CNN
—
Indian And Chinese The troops clashed on their disputed Himalayan border, the first known incident between the two nuclear-armed Asian powers in nearly two years.
Soldiers from both sides suffered minor injuries in Friday’s clash in Tawang sector in India’s northeastern region of Arunachal Pradesh, the Indian Defense Ministry said.
2,100 miles long (3,379-km) Disputed border A long-standing source of friction between New Delhi and Beijing, tensions rose sharply during the June 2020 handshake. Fighting between the two sides At least 20 Indian and four Chinese soldiers were killed in Aksai Chin-Ladakh.
Speaking to lawmakers on Tuesday, Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh accused China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) troops of trying to “unilaterally” change the situation.
“The ensuing skirmish led to a physical fight in which the Indian Army bravely prevented the PLA from trespassing into our territory and forced them to return to their positions,” Singh said, adding that there were no serious injuries on the Indian side.
In its earlier statement, India’s defense ministry said both sides had “immediately withdrawn from the area” and a flag meeting was held by the commanders of the respective countries there to discuss the issue “in accordance with structured mechanisms for the restoration of peace and tranquility”.
Singh said the meeting took place on Sunday and the Chinese side was asked to “refrain from such activities and maintain peace and tranquility along the border”. He added that the issue is being resolved through diplomatic channels as well.
China’s foreign ministry did not directly acknowledge the incident at a regularly scheduled news conference on Tuesday.
“As far as we know, the China-India border area is generally stable, and both sides maintain smooth communication through diplomatic and military channels on border-related issues,” said spokesman Wang Wenbin. Correspondents are “specific” to “competent authorities”.
China hopes that India will be “on the same side to jointly protect the peace and stability of the Sino-Indian border”.
India and China went to war on their border in 1962 and eventually established the LAC. But the two countries disagree on its precise location, and both continue to accuse the other of encroaching or seeking to expand their territory. Over the years, often non-fatal skirmishes have continued over the status of the border, including the most recently known example. In 2021According to an Indian Army report at the time.
In September, the Indian government said Indian and Chinese troops were present started withdrawing From the Khogra-Hotsprings border region in the western Himalayas, two years later border skirmishes ruptured diplomatic relations.
That statement came before a Regional summit in Uzbekistan It was attended by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Activities in the region are closely monitored by both sides.
On November 30, China’s foreign ministry criticized high-profile joint exercises between US and Indian troops in northern India’s Uttarakhand, saying the exercises “did not help build mutual trust” and Beijing expressed concern to New Delhi.
China has been wary of India’s relations with the US in recent years as Sino-US relations have strained and the Quad security dialogue, which includes India, the US and US allies Japan and Australia, has become more active.
Modi and Chinese President Xi last met at the Group of 20 (G20) summit in Bali last month, where the two shook hands but did not sit down.
Speaking in parliament last week ahead of the standoff, Indian Foreign Minister Subramaniam Jaishankar said Sino-Indian relations had been “unusual” in recent years due to border concerns and that New Delhi was “diplomatically very clear” with China. “They will not tolerate attempts to unilaterally change” the LAC.
“So As long as they continue to seek to do so, if they have built up forces in the border areas that are of serious concern to us, our relationship is not normal,” Jaishankar said in response to a question on China. India Relations said the military commanders were “constantly engaging each other”.
