Indian and Chinese border forces indulged in another fight last week in Sikkim in which troops from both sides received injuries, Indian officials said.
Though there is no official word from China, the Indian Army, issued a statement on Monday, saying that there was a “minor faceoff” on January 20 in the Naku La area of the state of Sikkim. It stated that the situation was handled by local commanders as per established protocols.
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An Indian official confirmed the scuffle, saying that soldiers from both sides were injured. Meanwhile, the Indian media has been reporting at least 20 injuries in the border fight on the Indian side, saying that the Peoples’ Liberation Army (PLA) also received an unconfirmed number of injuries.
The Indian Army has barred its media from “exaggerating or overplaying” their reporting on the issue.
On the other hand, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, Zhao Lijian, expressed ignorance on the development but urged India to exercise restraint.
India should refrain from actions that might escalate or complicate the situation along the border.
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Hu Xijin, the editor of the Chinese state-owned newspaper Global Times, refuted the reports of multiple injuries in a Twitter post.
This is fake news. Based on what I learned, there is no record of this clash in the patrol log of the Chinese side.
The latest brawl came six months after the deadly skirmish between the two nuclear-armed countries in the Galwan Valley of Ladakh in which at least 20 Indian soldiers were killed, and dozens of others were injured. Several Chinese soldiers had also reportedly died in the dispute. However, the country never officially accepted that.
Soldiers are enduring brutal winter temperatures high in the Himalayan Mountains as talks have failed to withdraw troops. Meanwhile, there are reports that China has captured a large area in Ladakh and has set up a 100-house village in Arunachal Pradesh, the disputed border state between the two countries.
