Indian and Chinese soldiers (photo archive).
Friday, July 19, 2020
UPDATimes - As many as 20 Indian soldiers were killed in a clash with the Chinese military in Ladakh, the disputed Kashmir region, amid rising tensions between the two countries.
The Indian military initially said three of its soldiers were killed in the clashes. However, Indian officers later said that a number of wounded soldiers had died from their wounds.
India's ministry of external affairs accuses China of violating an agreement established last week to respect each other's Actual Control Line (LAC) in the Galwan Valley.
BBC diplomatic correspondent, James Robbins, reports that acts of violence between the Indian and Chinese military in the Himalayas are very serious, and the pressure on them will develop so that these incidents do not develop into mass disputes.
A Chinese soldier near the border with India, 2008.
What are the two camps' comments regarding this incident?
On Tuesday (16/06), the Indian military said three of its soldiers, including an officer, were killed in clashes in the dispute in Ladakh, Kashmir.
Hours later, the Indian military released a statement stating the two camps were no longer in conflict.
It added, "17 Indian soldiers who were critically injured while on duty" have died, so that "the total who died on duty was 20 [people]".
China did not say whether there were soldiers on their side who were victims. However, the Chinese government has accused the Indian army of crossing the border.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian was quoted as saying that Indian troops had crossed the border, "provoking and attacking Chinese personnel, causing serious physical confrontations between border forces on both sides".
Both China and India insist that no bullets have been fired in the past four decades. The Indian military said "no shots were fired" in the incident.
How clashes can cause death without involving firearms so far is unclear. There have been a number of reports that the clashes involved stones and batons.
Local media reported that Indian soldiers had been "beaten to death".
The death of the Indian soldier is believed to be the first fatality in the confrontation between the two countries over the past decades. China and India fought once, in 1962. At that time, India suffered a crushing defeat.
How tense is the area?
The Actual Control Line (LAC) is not well demarcated. The presence of rivers, lakes and snowflakes can make the border lines shift. Both Indian and Chinese troops often face each other at a number of points.
So far, India has accused China of occupying their territory covering 38,000 square kilometers. Negotiations in three decades failed to resolve territorial disputes between them.
China also accused India of crossing the border and attacking Chinese soldiers, AFP news agency reported.
In May, dozens of Indian and Chinese troops fought a brawl on the border of the two countries, according to Indian media reports.
In May, seven Chinese and four Indian soldiers were injured.
Seven Chinese and four Indian soldiers were injured, said a military official near the Naku La sector, Sikkim State, India, near the Chinese border.
These border disputes are sometimes tinged with clashes, pushing and throwing stones at each other, BBC BBC South Asia editor Anbarasan Ethirajan reports.
There are several reasons why tensions between the two countries are now increasing. However, the opposing strategic goals are believed to be the roots and the two camps blame each other.
In 2017, the two countries clashed in the region after China tried to expand the border road through the disputed highlands.
India has also built a new road whose location, according to some experts, is in the most remote area in the entire LAC in Ladakh. And India's decision to intensify infrastructure development seems to have fueled Beijing's anger.
The path could increase Delhi's ability to mobilize troops and weaponry in the event of a conflict.
In addition to China, India is also in dispute with Pakistan in the Kashmir region, which covers an area of 140,000 square kilometers.
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