India, China soldiers engage in stone-pelting amid escalating tensions

Wednesday 23rd August 2017 07:05 EDT
 

Chinese Foreign Ministry has blamed India for an incident of stone-pelting near Pangong Lake in the Ladakh sector of the India-China border. The statement came even as media reports suggested the People's Liberation Army was conducting “live fire drills” in the western sector to “strike awe in India”. Chinese television also featured a five-minute video of a military drill involving 10 PLA units, including its aviation and armoured troops.

While there is no official confirmation of the fire drill, the Ladakh incident managed to raise tempers. There were also reports of one soldier kicking another, in addition to stone pelting. Indian officials had earlier said Chinese troops had crossed the border and pelted stones at jawans. Chinese Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying countered the statement saying, “According to our information, on August 15, the Chinese border troops conducted normal patrol on the Chinese side of the LAC (Line of actual control) around Pangong area. During this process, the Indian side took some violent actions and injured the Chinese border personnel. This has violated the consensus between the Indian and Chinese side in relation to the border issues.” He said Chinese troops sought to avoid confrontations and said India should “make tangible efforts to maintain peace and stability of the border areas between the two countries.”

Indian and Chinese soldiers yelled and hurled stones at each other high in the Himalayas in India-controlled Kashmir, in a brief escalation of tensions between the two nations that remains already engaged in a lengthy border stand-off elsewhere. A top Indian police officer said Chinese soldiers hurled stones while attempting to enter Ladakh region near Pangong Lake, but were confronted by Indian soldiers. Neither side used guns.


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