Over dozen Indian and at least eight Chinese soldiers were injured in a clash that took place last week in a disputed region of their shared border in North Sikkim, according to Indian officials.
The clash in the Naku La area of Sikkim came four days before the countries held a ninth round of talks on Sunday on ending tensions in another disputed border area in the remote Ladakh region.
The Indian army described the clash at Naku La as “a minor face off” and said it “was resolved by local commanders as per established protocols.”
An army statement did not provide any other details but asked media “to refrain from overplaying or exaggerating” the incident.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian was quoted in Associated press as saying that he did not have information to provide on the incident but urged India “not to take any unilateral action that may further complicate or exacerbate the border tension.”
Since a deadly clash last year, soldiers from the two sides have brawled occasionally and fired shots for the first time in decades, breaking a longstanding agreement not to use firearms during border confrontations.
Two Indian security officials said at least 18 Chinese soldiers tried to cross into Indian-claimed territory at Naku La last Wednesday night and were blocked by Indian soldiers, leading to clashes with sticks and stones. The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue and in keeping with government regulations, said soldiers on both sides were carrying firearms but did not use them.
The two officials said over a dozen Indian soldiers and at least eight Chinese soldiers received minor injuries.
There was no independent confirmation of the incident.
Both sides rushed more soldiers to the area in an “aggressive deployment” that swelled the number of personnel to hundreds, the officials said.
The leader of India’s main opposition Congress party, Rahul Gandhi, accused China of “expanding its occupation into Indian territory” and questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s silence.
Modi “hasn’t said the word ‘China’ for months,” Gandhi said in a tweet Monday. “Maybe he can start by saying the word ‘China.’”
