Indian and Chinese troops clashed along the Line of Actual Control in Arunachal Pradesh’s Tawang sector on December 9, causing “minor injuries” to a few soldiers on both sides, the defence ministry said in a statement on Monday.
The face-off took place in the mountainous Yangtzee region of eastern Tawang, where the Indian Army is in a dominant position, reported The Indian Express.
A report by news agency PTI said that at least six injured soldiers were taken to Guwahati for treatment after the clash.
The defence ministry said that in certain areas along the Line of Actual Control in Arunachal Pradesh’s Tawang, there are some “areas of differing perception”, in which the troops of both countries patrol the area up to their claim lines. “This has been the trend since 2006,” the ministry added.
On December 9, Chinese troops reportedly “contacted the LAC in Tawang sector” of Arunachal Pradesh. Indian soldiers contested this action in a firm and resolute manner, the defence ministry said.
After the face-off, both sides immediately disengaged from the area, according to the statement.
Subsequently, India’s commander in the area reportedly held a meeting with his counterpart to discuss the matter and restore peace.
An unidentified defence official on Monday told The Hindu that injuries on the Chinese side were “much higher” than among the Indian troops. Indian officials also said that the Chinese army had come “heavily prepared with around 300 soldiers”, but that they did not expect the Indian forces to be well-prepared.
This was the first such incident since the clash between Indian and Chinese troops in the Galwan Valley in Ladakh in June 2020.
Twenty Indian soldiers were killed in the clash. China had put the number of casualties on its side at four. In September, the two sides agreed to disengage at Patrolling Pillar (15) in the Gogra-Hotspring border area in Ladakh after a consensus was reached in the 16th round of military talks.
In October 2021, the Indian Army had detained some soldiers of China’s People’s Liberation Army after they engaged in a minor clash near the Yangtse area in Tawang.
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