China, India look to ease tensions after fatal clash in the Himalayas

NEW DELHI— India and China sought Wednesday to de-escalate tensions after flexing their muscles in a fatal clash along a disputed border high in the Himalayas that left 20 Indian soldiers dead.

The skirmish Monday in the desolate alpine area of Ladakh, in Kashmir, followed changes by India to the political status of Kashmir amid a geopolitical tug of war with the United States in the region.

Chinese officials said Wednesday that both sides had agreed to peacefully resolve their Himalayan border tension through dialogue. India should “not take unilateral actions that might complication the situation,” the Foreign Ministry in Beijing said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a speech Wednesday that “India wants peace, but is capable of giving a befitting reply.” He has called a meeting of India’s major political parties on Friday to discuss the China situation.

At least 20 Indian soldiers, including a colonel, died of severe injuries suffered in sub-zero temperatures, Indian officials said, after the two sides threw rocks and traded blows in the culmination of a months-long standoff in the Galwan Valley near the Line of Actual Control that separates the two countries.

No shots were fired because neither side’s patrolling soldiers carry firearms, in accordance with the terms of the unresolved border dispute, Indian officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to disclose information.

Still, it was the worst violence since 1962, when a war over competing claims on the remote Himalayan area ended with an uneasy truce.

Tussles for power between China and India, the two most populous nations, date back centuries, though the two have sought to keep political, economic and security ties and avoid outright bloodshed.