Troops from two of the world’s largest armies, India and China exchanged blows along the disputed India-China boundary in North Sikkim, leaving many soldiers injured of both the countries.
An aggressive face-off was witnessed between the soldiers of India and China near the Naku La sector, a pass at a height of more than 5,000 metres and traditionally not prone to such clashes. It is reported that the scuffle took place during the regular patrolling by the armed forces from the two involved countries along the disputed Sino-Indo border.
An anonymous Army source has been quoted as saying that the confrontation that involved around 150 soldiers have left four Indian and seven Chinese soldiers with minor injuries. The tussle got later resolved with local-level interaction and dialogue between senior officials of both the nuclear-armed nations.
“It should be noted that temporary and short duration face-offs along the Sikkim border occur as the boundary is not resolved. Troops resolve such issues mutually as per established protocols. This has occurred after a long time,” Army sources told ANI.
Temporary and short duration face-offs occur as the boundary is not resolved. Troops resolve such issues mutually as per established protocols. This has occurred after a long time: Indian Army sources https://t.co/scuySUQYt8
— ANI (@ANI) May 10, 2020
However, this is not an unprecedented incident as such clashes have previously erupted several between the troops of India and China. The fiercest of them all, the 73-day military standoff in Doklam in 2017 that made headlines for being the greatest flare-up between India and China post the Indo-China War of 1962.
New Delhi and Beijing had a major conflict when China tried to construct a road in Doklam, to which India (a strategic ally of Bhutan) objected. Doklam, with an area of over less than a 100 sq km comprises of a plateau and a valley and falls at the trijunction between India, Bhutan and China.
As a consequence of which, India and China witnessed the almost 2 months-long military stand-off in the sensitive region.
Tensions between India and China remained high in the highly volatile region despite not a single bullet being fired by both sides. The last time, Indian and Chinese soldiers had a face-off similar to the one on Saturday was in August 2017, on the bank of the Pangong Tso Lake in eastern Ladakh.
