After 'Minor' Face Off Between India And PLA Troops In Sikkim’s Naku La, Chinese Official Responds

As per sources, 17-20 soldiers of China have been injured in the skirmish that followed China’s infiltration attempt. On the Indian side, four Indian Army soldiers reportedly sustained injuries.

China on Monday said its troops were committed to maintaining peace along the disputed border with India hours after reports in Indian media said soldiers from both sides had clashed near the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Naku La area of Sikkim.

A 'minor face-off' took place between Indian and Chinese soldiers in Naku La area of North Sikkim on January 20 this year and the same was resolved by local commanders as per established protocols, the Indian Army said in a statement on Monday.

Indian Army later said in a statement: "It's clarified that there was a minor face-off between Indian Army & Chinese PLA troops at Naku La, Sikkim on 20th January. It was resolved by local commanders as per established protocols."

The Chinese foreign ministry declined to confirm or deny the latest clash between the border troops during the regular ministry briefing on Monday.

“On the specific (incident) you mentioned, I don’t have any information to offer. I would like to stress though the Chinese border troops are committed to upholding peace and tranquility along the border with India,” Zhao Lijian, ministry spokesperson, said.

The reports come close on the heels of the conclusion of the 9^th round of military-level talks between the two countries. The talks which started on Sunday morning continued for about 17 hours and ended at 2:30 am on Monday.

Recent India-China skirmishes:

Last year, while the world as dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic, Chinese troops attempted an infiltration bid on 15 June 2020, after which there was a violent clash in the Galwan Valley. 20 Indian soldiers were killed in the clash. Even then China had not released any figures of casualties of its soldiers.

On 29-30 August 2020, there was a clash again between India and China south of Pangong Tso Lake Indian Army said that it had thwarted ‘provocative military movements’ from China whose army had intruded into the southern bank of the Pangong Tso lake in eastern Ladakh.

India and China are locked in an eight-month-long bitter border standoff in eastern Ladakh that has significantly strained their ties. Both sides held a series of diplomatic and military talks to resolve the row. However, no breakthrough has been achieved to end the standoff.