Clahes between India and China on border kill troops on both sides

 (June 17)On Tuesday, there was major conflict in the Galwan Valley of Kashmir as Indian and Chinese troops skirmished along the line of control.

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Chinese and Indian positions

China's Foreign Ministry claimed that Indian troops had crossed the border into China twice and had attacked Chinese forces.

Chinese officials say their reaction was a show of restraint and Zhang Shuli, spokesman for the Chinese Western Theater Command, demanded that India stop all provocations and return immediately to dialogue and negotiation. However, India held emergency meetings to discuss retaliatory actions against China.

The Indian position directly contradicted the Chinese position. Anurag Shrivastava an Indian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson claimed that there was "an attempt by the Chinese side to unilaterally change the status quo" on the border. India is very clear that all its activities are always within the Indian side of the Line of Actual Control. We expect the same of the Chinese side,"

The conflict

The fighting was the worst in the area in decades during the lengthy ongoing conflict over the demarcation of the border. As many as 63 may have been killed including 20 Indian troops and and up to 43 Chinese troops. However, reports about specifics are still uncertain. Both China and India emphasized that there had been no gunfire during the conflict even though there was a high death toll. Locals say that the Chinese troops had fought with rocks and clubs and had beat Indians to deaths.

India and Pakistan also have disputes over Kashmir area

China has been a close ally of Pakistan. There are often fears that a major war could break out in the area. Even though Pakistan was not involved in the conflict between India and China it no doubt will support any Chinese position or retaliation if the Indians respond to the violence.

Dispute between China and India longstanding but low level

Both India and China are nuclear powers. Neither side wants an outright war so the dispute usually just drags on with continuing tensions. The area is relatively unimportant economically as well so It does not seem that important a dispute. However, conflicts such as just happened to cause events to spin out of control. However, an outright war would find both sides losing so probably cooler heads will prevail and the two sides will return to negotiations.

Previously published in the Digital Journal