A new clash between Indian and Chinese soldiers took place at the end of last week on the disputed Himalayan border between India and China, causing injuries on both sides, the Indian side announced on Monday.
Relations have been at their lowest between these Asian nuclear powers since clashes that killed 20 Indian soldiers and at least four in Chinese ranks in June 2020, also in the Himalayas.
The latest incident, which happened on Friday, caused “minor injuries to a few people” on both sides, a source close to the Indian military said.
According to another source, in the army this time, at least six Indian soldiers were injured.
China has not yet provided any official information on this subject.
The Chinese military approached the area near the “Line of Effective Control” – the de facto border – where it had been agreed that neither side would patrol, the sources said.
The Indian soldiers then reacted “firmly and resolutely”, said the first source.
After the skirmish, both sides “immediately withdrew from the area”, she added.
An Indian commander then had a meeting with a Chinese counterpart to “discuss the issue within the framework of existing mechanisms to restore peace and tranquility”.
Indo-American maneuvers
The incident took place in the Tawang area of the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh, all of which is claimed by China, which calls the region South Tibet.
The first source said there are “areas of different perception, in which both sides patrol to their claim lines. This has been the trend since 2006”.
Indian media quoted unnamed sources as saying that the clash involved around 300 members of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army and that most of the injured were on the Chinese side.
Since the deadly melee of 2020, these two countries have sent thousands of troops to reinforce their positions there, while multiple rounds of talks have failed to substantially ease tensions.
The military source said there had been a previous “face-to-face” in the last week of November in the region further north of Demchok in Ladakh between the Indian and Chinese military.
It was the first such incident since September 2020, but it is unclear whether there were any injuries then.
According to this source, an increased activity of the Chinese army has been recorded in Ladakh.
This all follows joint Indo-US military maneuvers last month in the northern state of Uttarakhand, which borders China, which angered Beijing.
Fuzzy borders
China and India fought a war in 1962 over their disputed border, part of which is over 4,000 meters and has never been demarcated.
Winter temperatures can dip below -30°C, causing rifle barrels to break and equipment to seize up.
Already before the June 2020 clash, India was moving closer to the strategic plan of the West, deepening its security cooperation with the United States, Japan and Australia in the Asia-Pacific region.
United by their concern over China’s growing influence in the region, these countries together form what is known as the Quadrilateral Alliance.
India has also embarked on the modernization of its armed forces, a program worth $130 billion, and has notably ordered attack helicopters from the United States and a missile defense system from Russia. .
Following the 2020 clashes, it banned hundreds of Chinese-origin mobile apps, including TikTok.
Bilateral trade, which reaches around 100 billion dollars a year, however, remains dynamic, even if India imports from China far more than it exports.