18 Jun 2020 : India and China agreed Wednesday to ease tensions at Himalayan border.
The two nations’ foreign ministers spoke by telephone to calm nerves after a high-altitude melee involving fists, rocks and clubs.
The call between China’s Wang Yi and India’s S Jaishankar came as sources told AFP that Indian paramilitaries were being deployed to the area of the skirmish high in the Himalayas opposite Tibet.
China’s state broadcaster CCTV, meanwhile, showed footage of People’s Liberation Army tanks and soldiers holding live fire drills in Tibet.
China has refused to confirm if it suffered any casualties in the first deadly clashes at the border in decades, although Indian media said at least 40 Chinese troops were killed or seriously hurt.
India’s foreign ministry said Jaishankar “conveyed the protest” of his government.
He warned that “this unprecedented development will have a serious impact on the bilateral relationship” and urged Beijing to “take corrective steps”.
But the two ministers also sought to de-escalate tensions.
China said both sides agreed to “cool down the situation on the ground as soon as possible”.
India’s foreign ministry said the two sides would implement a previously agreed disengagement, and “neither side would take any action to escalate matters”.
The incident, which took place Monday at around 4,500 metres (15,000 feet) up in the Galwan valley area.
In India, protesters called for the boycott of Chinese goods, with some burning posters of Chinese President Xi Jinping.
