Conflicts & War

Indian, Chinese forces hold fresh talks after border clash

New Delhi, Dec 22 (EFE).- India on Thursday announced that commanders of its troops and the Chinese military have agreed to maintain the security situation in the western sector of the de-facto bilateral border, barely two weeks after a recent clash between the two forces.

The meeting was held on Tuesday on the Chinese side of the Line of Actual Control, or the de-facto border, where military officers tried to resolve pending issues between the two sides to restore peace in the western sector of the Line, Indian foreign ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said in a presser on Thursday.

Moreover, the two sides also agreed to maintain “close contact and dialog” to take forward bilateral ties, he added.

Despite the conciliatory tone of the statement, tension remained high in the eastern sector of the border, where a clash took place on Dec. 9 leaving many soldiers injured on both sides, after Chinese troops allegedly crossed the LAC, according to India.

After New Delhi alleged that soldiers of the People’s Liberation Army had unsuccessfully tried to change the status quo at the border, Beijing insisted that the situation at the border was stable.

However, the number of Indian assets deployed in the LAC has been continuously increased, amounting to the largest-ever deployment of troops on the China border, Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said earlier this week.

He insisted that this was aimed at countering the Chinese deployment, which had increased “massively” since 2020.

The two nuclear powers have a historic dispute over several regions of the Himalayas, with Beijing claiming Arunachal Pradesh, which is under Indian control and parts of the Ladakh region.

India claims the Chinese-controlled Aksai Chin.

Bilateral ties have severely deteriorated following a border clash in the Himalayan Galwan Valley in June 2020.

It was the worst clash in 45 years between the nuclear-armed neighbors, in which at least 20 Indian soldiers were killed and 76 injured.

Beijing acknowledged that four PLA troops died and one received wounds.

New Delhi and Beijing have since tried to resolve the crisis diplomatically. EFE

hbc/ia

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