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The exchange of accusations between the world’s two most populous nations came just two months after a high-altitude hand-to-hand combat between their troops that left at least 20 Indian soldiers dead and an unknown number of Chinese victims.
India accused China of trying to cross its unofficial border into the Ladakh region late on Saturday, while Beijing accused Indian troops of the same action on Monday.
New Delhi and Beijing said they were determined to defend their territory.
Hostility between nuclear-armed neighbors is now at one of the highest levels since they fought a border war in 1962.
The two countries have sent tens of thousands of soldiers, supported by tanks and fighter jets, to the region since the brutal June 15 battle, fought with wooden sticks and fists, in which China suffered an undisclosed number of casualties. .
A military agreement between the two prohibits the use of firearms at the border.
Since then, diplomatic and military talks have made little progress and their resentment has been evident in descriptions of the latest confrontation.
India’s Defense Ministry said on Monday that Chinese troops “carried out provocative military movements to disrupt the the state“not Saturday.
The regional command of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) said in a statement that India was “seriously violating China’s territorial sovereignty” with its operation on Monday and demanded the withdrawal of Indian troops.
Indian rulers have not commented on the Chinese claims. On Sunday, Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar complained about the Chinese movements in an interview published by Hindustan Times. “We have a lot of Chinese forces (on the border) and, frankly, we don’t know why.”
Indian media, citing military sources, said that Chinese army forces attempted to seize the hills traditionally claimed by India around Pangong Tso, a 4,200-meter-high lake.
“Indian troops have anticipated this PLA activity on the southern shore of Pangong Tso Lake, they have taken steps to reinforce our positions and prevent Chinese intentions to unilaterally change the facts on the ground,” said the Indian Defense Ministry.
The newspaper Commercial standard He said an Indian task force on Monday tried to reach the top that China considers its own.
The ELP statement claimed that the Indian forces were involved in “an open provocation and caused tension in the border situation.” He said China was taking “necessary response measures.”
China’s Foreign Ministry previously said its troops “always strictly respected” the border, which was never officially delimited.
Residents of Leh, Ladakh’s main city, said the main road to the conflict zone was closed again amid a new wave of military caravans to the border.
The raids made national headlines and shook the Indian stock exchange in Mumbai, with the main Sensex index losing more than two percent, following news of the new confrontation with the giant neighbor.
Amid calls to boycott Chinese goods, India has increased economic pressure on China since the June battle and has repeatedly warned that relations would suffer unless its troops withdrew.
India has banned at least 49 Chinese companies, including the TikTok video platform, froze business with other Chinese companies, including the 5G network in India, and held Chinese products through customs.
China has complained of retaliation and warned that Indian consumers will suffer.
