NEW DELHI: A soldier of Tibetan origin with India’s Special Frontier Force has reportedly been killed in the latest border confrontation between India and China on their contested Himalayan border, fuelling concerns of a wider military confrontation between the two countries.
The death is the first reported from two incidents occurring within 48 hours on the border, two months after a battle that left at least 20 Indian soldiers dead.
The Indian government has not commented on the reports of the death, but Namgyal Dolkar Lhagyari, a member of the Tibetan Parliament in exile, told AFP news agency on Tuesday the Tibetan-origin soldier was “martyred during the clash” on Saturday night.
China’s foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying, however, said on Wednesday that no Indian troops had died in the latest flare-up on their frontier.
Provocative military movements
Earlier, India’s defence ministry said Chinese troops “carried out provocative military movements to change the status quo” at the border on Saturday.
China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) said India was “seriously violating China’s territorial sovereignty” with its operation on Monday and demanded Indian troops withdraw.
A Chinese Embassy spokeswoman in New Delhi also denied Chinese troops started the latest flare-up, accusing Indian troops of trespassing across the Line of Actual Control and conducting “flagrant provocations”.
India’s foreign ministry said on Tuesday China had caused the latest incident “even as ground commanders of the two sides were in discussions to de-escalate the situation”.
“Due to timely defensive action, the Indian side was able to prevent these attempts from unilaterally altering the status quo,” ministry spokesman Anurag Srivastava said in a statement.
Eastern border
Meanwhile, an Indian official said New Delhi has moved troops to its eastern stretch of the border with China since clashes erupted in June.
The movement of troops to the eastern district of Anjaw in Arunachal Pradesh state, which China also claims, raises the prospect of a wider face-off, though government and military officials in India ruled out any imminent confrontation.