Chinese troops clash with Indian soldiers in disputed border region

Indian and Chinese soldiers were on Wednesday involved in a prolonged confrontation along the disputed border territory between the two countries, reported Indian news publication The Times of India.

According to the report, Indian and Chinese troops clashed just after dawn in the Pangong Tso area of the border, just as India was preparing to conduct a new battlefield tactic in the national war games.

“Indian soldiers were on a patrol when they were confronted by People's Liberation Army soldiers, who strongly objected to their presence in the area. This led to a scuffle between the rival soldiers," a source told TOI.

In August 2017, Indian and Chinese soldiers were reported to have clashed in the same area, when stones and iron rods were used by the Indian troops to fight the Chinese.

The clash comes amid heightened tensions in South Asia as nuclear-armed neighbours India and Pakistan face-off over the issued of occupied Kashmir after India revoked the constitutional autonomy of the occupied valley.

China is paying close attention to the current situation in Indian occupied Kashmir, Beijing's foreign minister told the Pakistani leadership during meetings between the two countries' representatives earlier in September.

China and Pakistan have renewed their focus on enhancing strategic mutual trust and improving all-round cooperation so as to jointly promote regional peace, stability and prosperity in the wake of Indian aggression in occupied Kashmir, suggest reports.