INDIA, CHINA POINT FINGERS OVER CLASH
Soldiers fell to their deaths during fighting
At least 20 Indian soldiers were killed and dozens more were reportedly captured after a massive fight broke out with Chinese soldiers at the border — a clash that saw not a single firearm discharged.
According to Indian military officials, hundreds of soldiers clashed on June 15 with their fists, stones, and wooden clubs in a highly unusual clash at an increasingly tense frontier.
The two countries share a border along the Himalayas — mostly covered in cold high-altitude mountain ranges — but have long disagreed about who owns various parts of the territory. Since May, some of these disagreements have turned violent, as India continues to build roads and airfields in the region, despite the protests from China. Since 1993, an agreement between India and China means that neither side is to use deadly weapons at the border, and soldiers patrolling the area are unarmed.
Indian military officials said the most recent fight broke out when Indian soldiers encountered a Chinese patrol on the border, according to the Guardian. Indian officials say Chinese soldiers insulted them during a de-escalation meeting, which triggered a fight.
But in a statement, Chinese military spokesman Zhang Shuili said the India military crossed the border first.
“They deliberately launched a provocative assault, leading to an intense physical clash that caused death and injury,” Zhang said.
According to the Guardian, during the brawl, an Indian officer was pushed off a cliff and fell to his death, which caused India’s military to send in hundreds of reinforcements. According to the Indian armed forces, about 600 soldiers were fighting with their fists and improvised weapons — some of which may have included wooden clubs covered in nails or barbed wire. Most deaths, they say, occurred when soldiers fell off the high mountainous terrain.
Indian officials initially said they suffered three casualties, but later increased the number of dead to 20. Chinese officials haven’t officially released any information on their dead or injured.
China’s foreign ministry released a statement saying that the two countries have “agreed to deal fairly with the serious event.”
But Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a televised meeting that the killing of Indian troops will not be in vain, and that his country would “defend every stone, every inch of its territory.”
However, faced with China’s massive military prowess in the region, experts told the New York Times that India isn’t prepared or equipped for any increased escalation with the global superpower.