BY AGENCIES
Several troops suffered minor injuries as soldiers from India and China clashed last week along a disputed border in India’s eastern Arunachal Pradesh state, the Indian army has confirmed.
Indian troops prevented their Chinese counterparts from entering Indian territory on Dec. 9 during a border scuffle that led to injuries on both sides, India’s Defense Minister Rajnath Singh, told parliament on Tuesday.
The latest face-off occurred in the Tawang sector of India’s northeastern Himalayan state of Arunachal Pradesh, which borders China’s south. Indian troops suffered no fatality or serious injuries, Singh said.
“PLA troops attempted to unilaterally change the status quo by encroaching on the Line of Actual Control, in the Yangtse area of Tawang sector,” Singh said, referring to the People’s Liberation Army.
“Our army faced this attempt of China with firmness. A scuffle ensued in this face-off. The Indian Army bravely prevented the PLA from encroaching on our territory and forced them to withdraw to their posts. Some soldiers from both sides were injured in the skirmish.”
The Chinese embassy in New Delhi did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Beijing has yet to comment on the matter.
In June 2020, a clash in the Karakoram mountains in the Galwan Valley in the Ladakh region set off tensions between India and China after soldiers fought with stones, fists and clubs.
At least 20 Indian and four Chinese soldiers died, and the countries stationed tens of thousands of troops backed by artillery, tanks and fighter jets along the Line of Actual Control.
The Line of Actual Control separates Chinese and Indian-held territories from Ladakh in the west to India’s eastern state of Arunachal Pradesh, which China claims in its entirety. India and China fought a war over the border in 1962.
After multiple meetings between military commanders, some Indian and Chinese soldiers have pulled back from a key friction point in Ladakh since the 2020 clash, but tensions between the two Asian giants have persisted.
Daily Sabah