India says officer, two soldiers killed in 'violent faceoff' on border with China
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AFPUpdated June 16, 2020
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In this November 2019 file photo, a man walks inside a conference room used for meetings between military commanders of China and India, at the Indian side of the Indo-China border at Bumla, in the northeastern Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. — Reuters
The Indian army said on Tuesday that one of its officers and two soldiers were killed in a “violent faceoff” on the contested border with China, the first such incident in decades between the nuclear-armed neighbours.
India and China have been locked in a standoff in the western Himalayas for weeks, though there had been no casualties on either side.
The latest incident took place in the Galwan Valley in the mountainous region of Ladakh, the Indian army said in a statement. It said there were "casualties on both sides" in the incident which took place on Monday, although Beijing made no mention of any — while laying the blame squarely on Delhi.
Senior military officials from both sides were meeting to defuse the situation, it said.
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An Indian army officer in the region told
AFP that there had been no shooting in the incident. "It was violent hand-to-hand scuffles," the officer said on condition of anonymity.
'Attacking Chinese personel'
Beijing on Tuesday confirmed a clash took place, but made no mention of casualties. It accused Indian soldiers of crossing into Chinese territory and "attacking Chinese personnel".
Foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said Indian troops "crossed the border line twice ... provoking and attacking Chinese personnel, resulting in serious physical confrontation between border forces on the two sides".
"We again solemnly request that India follows the relevant attitude and restrains its frontline troops," he said.
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The Asian giants have rival claims to vast swathes of territory along their 3,500 kilometers Himalayan border, but the disputes have remained largely peaceful since a border war in 1962.
India’s main stock indexes, gave up earlier gains after the news, and were last up about 0.4 per cent each at 07:40 GMT, while the rupee weakened to 76.04 to the dollar.
Tensions along the China-India border high in the Himalayas have flared again in recent weeks, leading defence experts in New Delhi to fear that the jostling could turn into an
unintended full-blown military action.
Indian officials say the
latest row began in early May, when Chinese soldiers entered the disputed territory of Ladakh at three different points, erecting tents and guard posts. They said the Chinese soldiers ignored repeated verbal warnings to depart, triggering shouting matches, stone-throwing and fistfights. China has sought to downplay the confrontation while providing little information.
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Observers, however, say that the face-off was triggered by India’s
construction of roads and air strips in the region.
