A Tibetan-born soldier from India’s special forces is reportedly killed in the latest border clash between India and China on its disputed border with the Himalayas, fueling concerns of a broader military confrontation between the two regional powers. .
The death is the first of two reported incidents in 48 hours at the border, two months after a battle that left at least 20 Indian soldiers dead.
India and China, who fought a border war in 1962, have accused each other of attempting to cross their unofficial border in the Ladakh region in an attempt to gain territory.
The Indian government has not commented on the reports of the death, but Namgyal Dolkar Lhagyari, a member of the Tibetan parliament in exile, told AFP news agency on Tuesday that the Tibetan-born soldier was “martyred during the clash” on Saturday. at night. He did not identify the soldier by name.
He said another member of the Special Border Force, which apparently includes many ethnic Tibetans who oppose China’s claim to their home region, was injured in the operation.
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India says 20 soldiers killed in border clash with China |
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China spokesperson Hua Chunying however, he said Wednesday that no Indian troops had been killed in the latest blast at his border.
The two most populous countries in the world have sent tens of thousands of troops to the region since the brutal June 15 battle fought with sticks and wooden fists.
India has said that 20 soldiers died. China has recognized victims but has not given figures.
The two sides have blamed each other for the latest incidents.
‘Provocative moves’
Earlier, India’s Defense Ministry said that Chinese troops “carried out provocative military movements to change the status quo” at the border on Saturday.
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) said India was “seriously violating China’s territorial sovereignty” with its operation on Monday and demanded that Indian troops withdraw.
A spokeswoman for the Chinese embassy in New Delhi also denied that Chinese troops started the latest blast, accusing Indian troops of trespassing the Royal Line of Control – the de facto border – and carrying out “blatant provocations.”
India’s Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday that China had caused the latest incident “even as the ground commanders of the two sides were in talks to reduce the situation.”
“Thanks to timely defensive action, the Indian side was able to prevent these attempts from unilaterally upsetting the status quo,” ministry spokesman Anurag Srivastava said in a statement.
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India-China tensions: call for boycotting Chinese products |
Indian media reports, citing military sources, said that PLA forces attempted to seize the traditionally claimed hilltops of India around Pangong Tso, a lake at an altitude of 4,200 meters (13,800 feet).
India’s Defense Ministry said its troops “took steps to strengthen our positions and thwart Chinese intentions to unilaterally change the facts on the ground.”
In a statement Tuesday, a spokesman for the US State Department said Washington was closely monitoring the border dispute between India and China and hoped for a peaceful resolution.
After the deadly June incident, the most serious confrontation between the two countries in 50 years, both sides agreed to withdraw and the region’s military chiefs held five rounds of talks.
But the Indian military said this week that Beijing had breached the deal.
India secures its eastern border
On Wednesday, an Indian official told Reuters that New Delhi has moved troops to its eastern stretch of the border with China since clashes broke out in June.
The movement of troops into the eastern Anjaw district of Arunachal Pradesh state, which China also claims, raises the possibility of a broader clash, although government and military officials in India have ruled out any imminent confrontation.
“The military presence has surely increased, but when it comes to incursions, there are no verified reports as such,” said Ayushi Sudan, Anjaw’s top official, adding that several battalions of the Indian army were stationed there.
“There has been an increase in troop deployment since the Galwan incident and even before we started,” he told Reuters by phone.
Arunachal Pradesh, which China calls South Tibet, was at the center of a large-scale border war between India and China in 1962, and security analysts warned that it could become a flash point again.
But an Indian military spokesman, Lt. Col. Harsh Wardhan Pande, said there was no cause for concern and that the troops arriving in the area were part of a regular rotation.
“It’s basically about units changing. That’s happening as usual, not much,” Pande told Reuters from near Guwahati, the largest city in northeast India.
“As of now, there is nothing to worry about on that front.”
Since the deadly border clashes in June, there have been growing calls in India to boycott Chinese goods, and New Delhi has repeatedly warned that relations would suffer unless Chinese troops back down.
India has banned at least 49 Chinese-owned apps, including the TikTok video platform, has frozen contracts for Chinese companies, and held Chinese products at customs posts as tensions escalated.
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