The latest skirmish between India and China has raised worries about a growing rift between the world’s two most populous countries. The incident occurred in a remote, mountainous region bordering southern China’s Tibet Autonomous Region. Both sides suffered minor injuries. The incident is the latest in a long series of border clashes between the nations. Tensions have risen amid tension over India’s construction of infrastructure along the 3,440-kilometer (2,100-mile) disputed border, known as the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
A tense standoff between India and Pakistan in 1989 sparked a decade of communal violence in Indian-administered Kashmir, which has prompted regular skirmishes between the countries. India and China went to war in 1962 over their disputed Himalayan frontier, but the two countries do not agree on the exact location of the LAC. Rivers, lakes and snowcaps shift the line, and both claim territories that are part of the other nation’s land.
Both nations have also squabbled over natural resources and fought to build road networks across the border, which is often marked by high-altitude air bases. The confrontation between the two nuclear-armed neighbors is a major setback to efforts to resurrect a comprehensive regional partnership involving economic, security and cultural ties.
The escalation in border tensions comes as Prime Minister Modi’s relationship with President Xi appears to deteriorate and as New Delhi seeks warmer ties with the United States, including participating in the Quad security dialogue alongside America, Japan and Australia. At a hearing Tuesday, India’s defense minister accused the Chinese of trying to “unilaterally change” the status quo, and his remarks were reported widely by domestic media.
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