China, India disavow clash but pledge to end border standoff
BEIJING — China and India accused each other Wednesday of instigating deadly border clashes between their forces along the disputed Himalayan frontier, pledging to safeguard their territory but also to try to end a standoff that has dramatically raised the stakes between the nuclear-armed Asian giants.
Twenty Indian troops were reportedly killed in the clashes Monday night in the Ladakh region’s Galwan Valley, while it was not clear whether China suffered any casualties.
Indian security forces said neither side fired any shots, with some officials saying the soldiers were carrying anti-riot gear rather than weapons. The Indian soldiers, including a colonel, died of severe injuries suffered in sub-zero temperatures after the two sides threw rocks and traded blows, Indian officials said.
It was the deadliest conflict between the sides in 45 years, and escalated a standoff in the disputed region that began in early May, when Indian officials said Chinese soldiers crossed the boundary at three different points, erecting tents and guard posts and ignoring verbal warnings to leave.
That triggered shouting matches, stone-throwing and fistfights, much of it replayed on television news channels and social media.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi warned New Delhi not to underestimate Beijing’s determination to safeguard what it considers its sovereign territory. His comments came in a phone call Wednesday with his Indian counterpart, Subrahmanyam
Jaishankar.
Wang said China demanded that India conduct a thorough investigation and “harshly punish” those responsible.
“The Indian side would best not make an incorrect judgement of the situation, would best not underestimate China’s strong determination to safety its sovereign territory,” Wang said in a statement issued by the foreign ministry.
He repeated China’s claims that India was solely responsible for the conflict, saying Indian forces had crossed the Line of Actual Control that divides the thousands of troops from both sides deployed in the area.
Jaishankar, in turn, accused China of erecting a structure in the Galwan Valley, which he called a “premeditated and planned action that was directly responsible for the resulting violence and casualties,” according to a statement.