https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/w...rder-wznmnbkbg
Tensions soar after shots fired across Himalayan border
Shots have been fired across the Himalayan border that separates India and China, ratcheting up tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbours.
Each side accused the other of opening fire today across the border known as Line of Actual Control (LAC). Unease between the two countries has been rising for months around the disputed region, but if an exchange of fire is confirmed it would be the first time ammunition has been used for 45 years. Beijing accused Delhi of “provocation” by firing at its patrolling soldiers and urged India to refrain from “dangerous” actions.
On Monday night, troops of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) attempted to close in on a forward Indian position at the LAC, the de facto border, the Indian army said in a statement.
“And when dissuaded by [Indian troops], PLA troops fired a few rounds in the air in an attempt to intimidate [our] troops,” the army said in a statement today, adding that the Indian side acted with restraint. “At no stage has the Indian army transgressed across the LAC or resorted to use of any aggressive means, including firing,” it said.
China said the Indians had breached the border. “The Indian troops brazenly made [a] gunshot threat to the patrolling Chinese border guards who came forward for negotiations, and the Chinese border guards were forced to take countermeasures to stabilise the situation,” said Zhang Shuili, a representative of the PLA’s western theatre command. China’s foreign ministry said Indian troops had illegally crossed the LAC and were the first to fire shots. “This is a serious military provocation,” Zhao Lijian, a spokesman, told a daily news conference in Beijing today.
India has accused the Chinese of trying to gain territory around the huge glacial Pangong Lake through what it describes as “aggressive manoeuvres”. In retaliation, Indian soldiers have managed to take control of some strategic heights on the southern bank of the lake, according to Indian reports, apparently incensing the Chinese.....
A series of diplomatic and military talks have failed to defuse the crisis. A meeting between the two countries’ defence ministers in Moscow last Friday also yielded no progress. Both countries have repeatedly said they want a peaceful resolution, but military experts say the situation is deteriorating fast.
The war of words has seen no let-up. China says it holds India responsible for the dispute and that it is not far from being “annihilated”, according to an editorial in the party-run
Global Times newspaper.
It went on to warn of “bloody rain and winds” on the border if India did not abide by a 1996 agreement not to use live fire in the region. “We must harshly warn the Indian side that you’ve overstepped. Your frontline troops have overstepped. Your nationalistic public opinion has overstepped. Your foreign policy on China has overstepped,” said the editorial.....
https://ca.investing.com/news/world-...t-unit-2243631
Tibetan soldier's death near tense India-China border sheds light on covert unit
https://www.forbes.com/sites/michael.../#65072bb621f3
Is China Deploying New Anti-Aircraft Missiles On India’s Border?
Using open-source satellite imagery, observers claim to have spotted two new surface-to-air missile (SAM) sites in the Chumbi valley of Tibet, on the border with the northeastern Indian state of Sikkim and the independent kingdom of Bhutan. A Chinese-held wedge that juts deep into Indian territory, the Chumbi valley is located in an area that was the site of
border clashes between Indian and Chinese troops in 2017 and 2020.
The new missile sites are just 50 kilometers (31 miles) from where the border skirmishes occurred, according to photos posted on Twitter. The satellite photos show what appear to be two square-shaped installations surrounded by walls: each installation contains a circular position containing a single long cylinder that resembles a missile.
“As a part of the ongoing upgrades & expansion of air defense assets along its border with India, China has been developing two new air defense positions near its suspected early warning radar sites opposite Sikkim,” according to the caption on the Twitter satellite imagery graphic.
“Noted roughly 50 kms from Naku La and Doka La passes, both surface to air missiles sites would close the existing air defense gap around the earlier clash zones. India has been noted running regular intelligence surveillance & reconnaissance missions in this sector during these standoffs fielding a variety of assets including the Boeing P-8 [patrol aircraft].