20 Indian soldiers killed after clashes with Chinese troops along contested border

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• The Indian army reported that 20 of its soldiers were killed after clashes with Chinese troops along their contested border.
• China and India reaffirmed a signed agreement in the 1990s not to use military force.
• The current tension worries experts as China and India have increased its nuclear arsenal in the past year.

What started as hand-to-hand scuffles and throwing of rocks has now escalated to a violent faceoff in the 2,175-mile frontier in Galwan Valley, in the mountainous region of Ladakh. Citing an army statement, 20 Indian soldiers were killed as reported by Reuters and The Associated Press.

Initial reports said that 3 Indian soldiers died but later added 17 soldiers who succumbed to injuries.

To defuse the tension, a meeting on the Indian side of the border at Bumla, in the state of Arunachal Pradesh, has been set between senior commanders of the warring armies.

According to China, the Indian troops “crossed the border for illegal activities and launched provocative attacks against Chinese personnel. “The Chinese side has lodged a strong protest and solemn representation to the Indian side, urging it to strictly restrain its front-line troops according to the consensus.”

Thousands of troops from both armies are now camped on either side of the disputed Galwan Valley.

The border clashes between China and India started in the 1860s, when China objected to the drawing of borders by the British Colonial rulers and then escalated into a war in 1962.  There have been no reports of clashes since 1975, and in the 1990s, both countries signed an agreement reaffirming their promise not to use military force.

The current clash makes experts worry as China has been getting increasingly assertive worldwide and India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a friend of USA’s President Trump.  

In the past year, these two nuclear-armed powers have both increased their nuclear arsenal.  According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), China from 290 to 320 warheads, and India from 130-140 to 150 warheads.

In a tweet, Hu Xijin, the influential editor-in-chief of the Global Times, wrote: “I want to tell the Indian side, don’t be arrogant and misread China’s restraint as being weak. China doesn’t want to have a clash with India, but we don’t fear it.”

Source: NBC News