At least 20 Indian soldiers and 35 Chinese soldiers were killed in a clash in the Galwan Valley border area.
The incident mirrors rising tensions and is the first deadly clash in the border area since 1962.
India’s external affairs ministry accused China of violating an agreement struck the previous week to respect the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Galwan Valley.
As per international sources, it is also said that the dispute between two armies high up in the Himalayas is very severe, and pressure will grow on the two nuclear powers not to allow a slide into a full-scale battle.
Both sides insist no bullet has been fired in four decades, and the Indian army said on Tuesday that “no bullets were fired” in this latest skirmish.
How a clash that did not involve an exchange of fire could prove so lethal is unclear. There are reports that it was fought with rocks and clubs.
The two nuclear-armed neighbors have a chequered history of face-offs and overlapping territorial claims along the more than 3,440km (2,100 miles), poorly drawn Line of Actual Control dividing the two sides.
Border patrols have often bumped into each other, ending in random scuffles. But no bullets have been fired in four decades.
That is why Sunday’s night’s clash following months of roiling tension has taken many by surprise.
Whatever the result, the latest incident is likely to trigger a fresh wave of anti-China sentiments in India.
What happened in the clash?
At least 20 Indian soldiers were killed in Monday night’s incident. It happened in Galwan Valley in the disputed Ladakh region.
China blamed Indian troops of crossing the border twice, “provoking and attacking Chinese personnel.”
Both sides insisted that no shots were fired. Indian officials gave accounts of fighting with bare hands, iron rods and stones.
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