High Altitude Fisticuffs Erupt Between India and Communist Chinese Soldiers

Sticks and stones may break my bones, but at least they’re not firing live ammunition, at least not this time. Among the high Himalayas, Chinese and Indian soldiers have come to non-lethal fisticuffs in a test of wills between the planet’s two most populated countries.Along the border in India’s remote far east, the Chinese and Indians clashed hand to hand, no shot and shell, avoiding the kind of armed conflict that cost the lives of 20 Indian soldiers two years ago. Tensions are likely to intensify, however, as China seeks to expand its power and influence all around its borders.The standoff raised the specter of the war that erupted between the two countries 60 years ago when the Chinese challenged Indian forces at altitudes of 15,000 feet in both the eastern and western sectors of their 2,300-mile frontier.India’s defense minister, Rajnath Singh, on Tuesday accused Chinese soldiers of “encroaching” on the “Line of Actual Control” in India’s remote northeast. “A scuffle ensued,” he said, and “the Indian Army bravely prevented” the Chinese “from encroaching on our territory and forced them to withdraw.”In Beijing, a spokesman said the situation was “stable” as local Chinese and Indian commanders “maintained unobstructed dialogue.” The Indians, he said, should “advance in the same direction as China” by honoring agreements “to uphold the peace and tranquility” of the region.A number of Indian soldiers were injured in a fight in which apparently no shots were fired, but the clash had obvious implications for India’s relations with Washington as well as Beijing.A Chinese spokesman earlier this year accused Washington officials of having “sought to fan the flames and drive a wedge” between China and India. Such conduct, he said, was “disgraceful.”Washington has clearly sided with India both militarily and diplomatically, courting India in a strategic effort to draw the country, a democracy, away from the orbit of Russia as well as China.Much to the alarm of the Chinese, American military forces recently conducted annual exercises about 60 miles south of the Sino-Indian line in northwestern India. The Chinese spokesman said the exercise “violated the spirit” of agreements between China and India.An Indian spokesman sought to avoid the implication that the Americans and Indians were gearing for war. Rather, he said, the purpose of the war games was “to enhance interoperability and share expertise between both armies in peace-keeping and disaster relief.”The American defense secretary, Lloyd Austin, made a point of stopping off in India on his first overseas mission last year after visiting South Korea and Japan. The purpose, he said, was to “make sure that we have the capabilities and the operational plans” for “ a credible deterrence to China.”Washington, though, faces tough competition with Moscow for influence in New Delhi. The Russians account for nearly half of India’s arms imports, according to the Congressional Research Service. Washington has objected strongly to deals on selling Russian missiles to India.India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, has been reluctant to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine but has shown signs of shifting his attitude in view of President Putin’s mention of nuclear weapons.“Today’s era is not an era of war,” Mr. Modi was reported to have said, no doubt hoping that differences with China will not go beyond the latest encounter with bare fists.

High Altitude Fisticuffs Erupt Between India and Communist Chinese Soldiers

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