TURF BATTLE
Are China and India at war? Why the two nuclear powers are fighting over land in the Himalayas
CHINA and India have accused each other of igniting deadly border clashes along the disputed Himalayan frontier.
Here is more on the bloodiest conflict between the two Asian countries in 45 years.
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Are China and India at war?
The nuclear-armed nations are not at war, but tensions are high.
“It is a highly volatile and dangerous situation between two nationalistic, nuclear powers at a time when American influence has badly diminished,” said Abraham Denmark, Asia program director at The Wilson Center.
The UN is urging both sides “to exercise maximum restraint.”
“We are concerned about reports of violence and deaths at the Line of Actual Control between and ,” said UN associate spokesperson Eri Kaneko.
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“We take positive note of reports that the two countries have engaged to de-escalate the situation.”
How many soldiers have died?
Twenty Indian troops were reportedly killed in the clashes Monday night in the Ladakh region’s Galwan Valley.
It was not clear whether China suffered any casualties.
The Indian soldiers died of injuries suffered in sub-zero temperatures after the two sides threw rocks and traded blows, according to officials.
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What land are they fighting over?
India unilaterally declared the Ladakh region a federal territory while separating it from disputed Kashmir last year.
China and other countries condemned the move and raised concerns with the UN Security Council and other international forums.
The standoff began in May when Indian officials said Chinese soldiers crossed the boundary at three different points and ignored verbal warnings to leave.
Shouting matches, stone-throwing and fistfights followed.
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An editorial published Wednesday in a Chinese Communist Party newspaper claimed India was being encouraged by the US, which has been building relations with India’s military.
“The arrogance and recklessness of the Indian side is the main reason for the consistent tensions along China-India borders,” the editorial in the Global Times read, adding that China “does not and will not create conflicts, but it fears no conflicts either.”
Experts say war is not likely, but believe a smooth resolution could be tricky and may take time.
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“This will likely be a watershed moment in India-China relations and the geopolitics of the Indo-Pacific,” said Denmark.
“Both countries are led by men who have embraced nationalism, and both countries are facing tremendous domestic and international upheaval as a result of COVID-19 and other long-standing problems.”
China claims about 35,000 square miles of territory in India’s northeast, while India says China occupies 15,000 square miles of its territory in the Aksai Chin Plateau in the Himalayas.
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