India says its forces have clashed with Chinese troops in a disputed area along the border, the first such flare-up in more than a year. The two nations had been working to de-escalate tensions since a major clash killed at least 24 troops in 2020. But on Monday, the Indian army said there had been a clash last Friday in the Tawang sector of Arunachal Pradesh state, the eastern tip of India. Both sides were involved with a few soldiers suffering minor injuries. Reuters reported an Indian army source saying at least six Indian troops were injured. "Both sides immediately disengaged from the area," the Indian army said. It added that commanders from both sides had held a meeting immediately after "to restore peace and tranquility". India's Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, who addressed lawmakers in Parliament on Tuesday, said the encounter started when Chinese troops "encroached into Indian territory" and "unilaterally tried to change the status quo" along the disputed border near the Yangtse area. He said the Indian soldiers responded with firmness and prevented the Chinese army from "transgressing into our territory", and forced them to return to their posts. Mr Singh said that some soldiers from both sides had been injured in the skirmish but no Indian soldiers had been "hurt or seriously injured" in the clash. He said that local military commanders met on Sunday to discuss the dispute, adding that the incident has been taken up with the Chinese side "through diplomatic channels". China's foreign ministry gave no details on the incident but said that according to their knowledge, the situation on the border with India was "generally stable". China and India share a disputed 3,440km (2,100 mile) long de facto border — called the Line of Actual Control, or LAC — which is poorly demarcated. The presence of rivers, lakes and snowcaps means the line can shift. The soldiers on either side - representing two of the world's largest armies - come face to face at many points. Tensions sometimes escalate into skirmishes. However both sides have been trying to de-escalate since a major battle in June 2020 in the Galwan Valley in the Ladakh region much further to the west - where 20 Indian soldiers and at least four Chinese soldiers died. That battle - fought with sticks and clubs, not guns - was the first fatal confrontation between the two sides in the the area for 45 years. Another face-off in January 2021 left troops on both sides injured. It took place along the border between China and India's Sikkim state, which is sandwiched between Bhutan and Nepal. In September both countries agreed to disengage from at a disputed area along a remote western Himalayan border area, with both sides beginning troop withdrawals. — BBC
