China and India have said they have agreed to demand an early decoupling of frontline troops after soldiers clashed along their disputed border with the Himalayas in the first outbreak of violence in the region in seven months.
The two countries said at a commander-level meeting on Sunday that they would hold dialogue and negotiations, according to a joint press release issued by the Chinese Ministry of Defense on Monday night. China and India have agreed to hold the next meeting early to promote the escalation, they said in the statement.
The statement does not name the latest clash between troops.
Soldiers on both sides were injured in the new outbreak of violence along the border that runs through the northeastern state of Sikkim, ANI message. The Indian army confirmed in a statement that on January 20, there was a ‘minor sight’ in the Nakula area in North Sikkim that had been resolved by local commanders.
This is the same area where violence broke out between the two armies on 9 May.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said in Beijing on Monday that he had “no information” about the reports of clashes.
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“However, I would like to emphasize that China’s border troops are committed to maintaining peace and tranquility along the border with India,” Zhao said. “We call on the Indian side to work with us in the same direction and refrain from actions that could aggravate or complicate the situation along the border.”
Hu Xijin, the editor-in-chief of the Global Times backed by the Communist Party, called the reports in a tweet “fake news” and said there was no report of the collision of the Chinese-side patrol log. Hu’s tweets are closely watched after he accurately predicted previous movements from Beijing, although his statements sometimes do not reflect official policy.
Both sides moved thousands of soldiers, tanks, artillery to the disputed border after clashes in the Galwan Valley in Ladakh last June that killed at least 20 Indian soldiers and an unknown number of Chinese troops.
India and China share a controversial and unmarked border of 3,488 kilometers (known as the line of real control). The two nations again had a round of talks on Sunday over Corps commander aimed at ending the standoff.
– Assisted by Sudhi Ranjan Sen, Lulu Shen, Lucille Liu, Colum Murphy and Jon Herskovitz