In the days leading up to the most violent border clash between India and China in decades, China brought in pieces of machinery, cut a trail into a Himalayan mountainside and may have even dammed a river, satellite pictures suggest.
An Indian Army convoy moves along a highway leading to Ladakh, at Gagangeer in Kashmir's Ganderbal district June 18, 2020. REUTERS/Danish Ismail
China rejected the allegations and blamed frontline Indian soldiers for provoking the conflict which took place at the freezing height of 14,000 feet in the western Himalayas. The satellite pictures, taken by Earth-imaging company Planet Labs and obtained by Reuters, show signs of altering the landscape of the valley through widening tracks, moving earth and making river crossings, one expert said.“Looking at it in Planet, it looks like China is constructing roads in the valley and possibly damming the river,” Jeffrey Lewis, director of the East Asia Nonproliferation Program at California’s Middlebury Institute of International Studies.
The fighting was triggered by a row over two Chinese tents and observation towers that India said had been built on its side of the LAC, Indian government sources in New Delhi and on the Indian side of the border in the Ladakh region said. The Chinese troops had thinned out and left behind the two tents and small observation posts. The Indian party demolished the towers and burnt the tents, the sources said.
India and China have not exchanged gunfire at the border since 1967, despite occasional flare-ups. Soldiers are under instructions to keep their rifles slung at their backs.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Himalayan assault: India and China clashThe first deaths at the contested border in 45 years signal broader geopolitical shifts—and mark an escalation that will be difficult to reverse. “Mercenary” is less and less a dirty word in Africa; in fact, there may be more of them than ever before. And how the art business increasingly relies on marketing the dead. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Read more »
Himalayan assault: India and China clashThe first deaths at the contested border in 45 years signal broader geopolitical shifts—and mark an escalation that will be difficult to reverse. “Mercenary” is less and less a dirty word in Africa; in fact, there may be more of them than ever before. And how the art business increasingly relies on marketing the dead. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Read more »
Breakingviews - Economic arsenals intensify India and China clash(Reuters Breakingviews) - Economic roads between India and China may prove as fraught as real ones running through the Himalayas. The first deadly clash between the nuclear powers in decades is even weightier given their deepening commercial links. Those were supposed to help maintain the peace, but instead it is looking like geopolitical and financial battles will feed on each other.
Read more »
Wider armed conflict between India and China unlikely after 'violent' border clashIndia's foreign ministry said a 'violent face-off' occurred on Monday evening along the border in the Galwan Valley in Ladakh, where soldiers from India and China have been locked in a standoff since May.
Read more »
India impatient for Modi's response to China after 20 soldiers die in border clashIndia impatiently awaited Prime Minister Narendra Modi's response on Wednesday to the death of at least 20 soldiers in a border clash with Chinese troops as the country's media vented its fury and political rivals goaded Modi over his silence.
Read more »
India awaits Modi's response to China after 20 killed in clubs and stones border clashIndia impatiently awaited Prime Minister Narendra Modi's response on Wednesday to the death of at least 20 soldiers in a border clash with Chinese troops as the country's media vented its fury and political rivals goaded Modi over his silence.
Read more »