India-China forces clashed in border area
The Indian Minister of Defense says in an address to Parliament that the Chinese allegedly transgressed into Indian territory unprovoked.
The Indian army stated on Monday that a conflict occurred last Friday between its troops and Chinese troops across a disputed border area, and noted that the two countries have not clashed on the Tawang area of Arunachal Pradesh state, near India's easternmost tip, in over a year.
In May 2020, the two countries' troops clashed and as a result, 24 troops died. Ever since there have been distinct attempts to de-escalate tensions.
"Both sides promptly disengaged from the area," the Indian army stated, adding that commanders from both sides met shortly thereafter "to restore peace and tranquility."
In an address in the Indian Parliament, on Tuesday, India's Defense Minister Rajnath Singh claimed the incident began when Chinese forces "encroached into Indian territory" and "unilaterally tried to change the status quo."
Singh said that the Indian troops retaliated and prevented the Chinese troops from "transgressing into our territory" and forced them to return to their posts.
The Indian Defense Minister stated that local military commanders met on Sunday to address the border dispute and that the matter has been raised with the Chinese side "through diplomatic channels."
The Chinese foreign ministry released no information about the incident, but stated that the situation on China's border with India was "generally stable".
Read more: Indo-Chinese conflict deescalates as countries withdraw border troops