Indian, Chinese troops clash along LAC in Tawang sector; 'minor injuries' on both sides

Three months after the last round of troop disengagement in eastern Ladakh signaling restoration of peace, soldiers from India and China clashed once again, this time in Arunachal Pradesh, leading to “minor injuries” to border guarding men from both sides.

Army sources on Monday said on December 9, Chinese People’s Liberation Army troops “contacted” the Line of Actual Control in the Tawang sector. “This was contested by Indian troops in a firm and resolute manner. This face-off led to minor injuries to few personnel from both sides,” they said.

The clash at Yangtse is the first one since the brutal hand-to-hand combat at Galwan and is a major escalation in the two-and-half-year-long confrontation that now appears to be ebbing in eastern Ladakh.

“Both sides immediately disengaged from the area. As a follow-up of the incident, the Indian Army commander in the area held a flag meeting with his counterpart to discuss the issue in accordance with structured mechanisms to restore peace and tranquillity,” sources said.

At least six soldiers injured in the India-China clash have been brought to Guwahati for treatment. Sources said the Chinese patrol party, in contravention of the protocol, was a large one. They were challenged by the Indian troops leading to a fierce hand-to-hand fight.

Indian and Chinese troops were engaged in a brief face-off near Yangtse in October last year as well, but it was resolved following talks between local commanders as per established protocols.

The fresh stand-off comes three months after India and China withdrew their troops from the Gogra-Hot Spring areas in eastern Ladakh ending the two-and-half-year border crisis compelling both sides to deploy a large number of heavily armed troops close to the LAC.

Army sources said in certain areas along the Tawang sector, there were differing perceptions about the LAC due to which two armies patrolled the area up to their claim lines. This has been the trend since 2006.

Last month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping exchanged courtesies during the G20 summit at Bali in Indonesia. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said in the Parliament that India's relationship with China could not be normal as long as the communist country continued with its military build-up along the disputed boundary.

Beijing, for a long time, claimed Arunachal Pradesh to be a Chinese territory and even published maps showing it under the communist country’s jurisdiction. China also gave Tibetan names to 15 places in the north eastern state riling Indian diplomats, who refuted such claims.

India and China share a non-demarcated 3,488 km disputed frontier, where their troops used to adhere to long-standing mutually agreed protocols to avoid stand-off and clashes. But the Defence Ministry informed the Parliament that there are hundreds of transgressions by the PLA troops owing to a difference in perception of the LAC by the two countries. There were 273 transgressions in 2016; 426 in 2017 and 326 in 2018.

The fresh instance of a clash between the troops comes 60 years after India and China fought a bitter war in the Himalayas.