On Wednesday China and India pledged to end fighting over the disputed Himalayan frontier and agreed to protect the territory while cooling the tensions between the two Asian powers.
Twenty Indian troops and an unknown number of Chinese troops were killed in violent battles on Monday night in the Ladakh region’s Galwan Valley. Not a shot was fired, but rather, the conflict was fought with rocks and fists and most fatalities resulted from exposure to freezing temps in the mountains.
CDMedia reported on the initial conflicts in this region that began this May when Chinese troops crossed the Indian boarder and provoked fistfights with Indian soldiers demanding that they leave the disputed territory. This Line of Actual Control area has been argued over between the two countries for the past 45 years.
“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,” Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said in a statement issued by the foreign ministry. China blamed India for the conflict and accused them of crossing ”The Line” to provoke a reaction.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed his soldiers killed in the clashes and his government warned that these incidents would negatively effect the relationship with China. “Their sacrifices won’t go to waste,” Modi said. “For us, the unity and sovereignty of the country is the most important thing. India wants peace, but when provoked, it is capable of giving a fitting reply, be it any kind of situation.”
China claims about 90,000 square kilometers (35,000 square miles) of territory in India’s northeast, while India says China occupies 38,000 square kilometers (15,000 square miles) of its territory in the Aksai Chin Plateau in the Himalayas, a contiguous part of the Ladakh region.
As relations between India and the USA have grown stronger the frequency and severity of Chinese aggression toward Modi’s regime has increased. Sales of US military equipment to India signed during President Trump’s visit to India in February started the latest round of conflicts. The region in Northern India that borders Pakistan and China has long been considered one of the most volatile and dangerous in the world.
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