HAND TO HAND COMBAT
Shock new vid shows India and China’s medieval-style border clash with troops using sticks & rocks batter each other
Read on to know why India and China cannot use military weapons in the border areas
SHOCKING footage shows India and China's medieval-style border clash with troops using sticks and stones to batter the enemy.
Soldiers from the two Asian powers - both nuclear-armed - were seen fighting in hand-to-hand combat on the disputed Himalayan border.
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In the dramatic video, which dates back to 2021, soldiers from both countries can be seen engaging in melee attacks and resorting to primitive weapons to fight for strategic positions alongside the border area.
The fight broke out in Galwan Valley of India's northeastern Himalayan state of Arunachal Pradesh - part of which is wrongfully claimed by China.
A small group of Indian soldiers came across 300 Chinese troops on a mountain ridge that resulted in the physical conflict.
Footage showed Indian soldiers beating back Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) forces, who appeared to be trying to advance to the top of a ridge.
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Bats spiked with nails and wrapped in barbed wire were used - with one Indian official describing the Chinese force as a "death squad".
As the Indian soldiers hit them, Beijing’s forces jumped back over a wall in the face of the relentless blows.
They can be seen pinned behind barbed wire as they trade blows with their adversaries.
With the Type 95 assault rifles strapped to their backs, Chinese troops seemed reluctant to use firearms - even when facing heavy beating from Indian men.
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Why did the troops resort to a hand-to-hand combat?
WHILE both the nuclear-armed countries have a powerful millitary, a 1996 border agreement prohibits the use of guns and explosives near the border.
The mutual agreement between India and China said: "Neither side shall use its military capability against the other side."
It also restricts the troops from both armies from using military strength to attack the other side or to engage in activities that could "undermine peace, tranquillity and stability in
the India-China border areas".
Another pact called the Border Defence Cooperation Agreement was signed between the governments of both countries in 2013.
Measures in the pact include flag meetings, border personal meetings, hotlines and meetings between representatives of both nations.
Cultural exchanges, "non-contact" sports, military exercises, and "small-scale tactical exercises along the line of actual control in the India-China border areas were also part of the agreement that was drafted to promote peace in the region
At least 20 Indian soldiers - including officer Bikumalla Santosh Babu - died in the fighting which took place hand-to-hand with improvised weapons.
Beijing reported the death of just four Chinese soldiers in what experts believe was an attempt to hide the actual count.
After the attack, India's defence minister Rajnath Singh told the parliament: "The Chinese attempt was contested by our troops in a firm and resolute manner.
"The ensuing face-off led to a physical scuffle in which the Indian army bravely prevented the PLA from transgressing into our territory and compelled them to return to their posts."
Singh said the Chinese side was asked to refrain from such actions and that the issue had been taken up with China through diplomatic channels.
But Chinese military spokesman Long Shaohua claimed Indian troops had "illegally crossed” the border and "obstructed" Chinese border patrol troops.
"Our response measures were professional, standard and forceful, and stabilised the situation on the ground. At present, China and India have disengaged," said Long.
"We ask the Indian side to strictly control and restrain front-line troops, and work with China to maintain peace and tranquillity on the border."
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China and India lay claim over vast swathes of territory along their 2,100-mile-long de facto border, called the Line of Actual Control (LAC) - a loosely-drawn demarcation that separates Indian and Chinese territories in the region.
The Himalayan area is largely remote, rugged and snowcapped, with soldiers from both sides facing off just a few yards away from each other in several areas.
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