Chinese, Indian troops fight along Himalayan region, no deaths reported

Dec. 13 (UPI) -- India's Defense Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday accused China of initiating a conflict on the disputed border between the two countries in the Himalayan Mountain region.

Singh told Indian officials that Chinese People's Liberation Army troops of crossed the "Line of Actual Control," the de facto border between China and India in the region on Friday, in the most serious run-in since 2020.

"The Chinese attempt was contested by our troops in a firm and resolute manner," Singh told Indian officials. "The ensuing face-off led to a physical scuffle in which the Indian army bravely prevented the PLA from transgressing into our territory and compelled them to return to their posts."

Singh said 20 Indian soldiers were injured in the exchange but no deaths were reported.

He added that both sides "immediately disengaged from the area" and commanders from both militaries met on Sunday "to discuss the issue in accordance with established mechanisms."

During the meeting, China was "asked to refrain from such actions and maintain peace and tranquility on the border."

Chinese officials declined to directly address the conflict in comments from its foreign ministry on Tuesday.

"As far as we know, the China-India border area is generally stable, and both sides have maintained smooth communications on boundary-related issues through diplomatic and military channels," ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said.

China complained on Nov. 30 about high-altitude joint military exercises conducted between the United States and Indian troops in northern India's Uttarakhand. Beijing said the drills did "not help build bilateral trust."

The two sides went to war over the border region in 1962 and have since engaged in a series of mostly non-lethal conflicts in the ensuing decades as the dispute over the location of the border has remained unsettled.

In the 2020 incident, 24 Indian soldiers were killed in violent hand-to-hand combat after months of transgressions. The western Himalayan border, where both countries fought the Sino-Indian War in 1962, had not seen a deadly conflict there since 1975.