Incidents took place on Saturday August 29 and Monday August 31 in the Ladakh region, located in eastern India.

According to Beijing and New Delhi, the effective line of control, which acts as the border between India and China but which is not demarcated, has been crossed.

But neither side admits to having done so. 

A representative of the Tibetan Parliament in exile, Namghyal Dolkar Lhagyari, also announced that a soldier of Tibetan origin engaged in the Indian troops had been killed during a clash with the Chinese army. 

A deadly clash, a first since

1975

For Jean-Luc Racine, emeritus research director at the CNRS and researcher at the Asia Center think tank, contacted by France 24, this violence marks a turning point in Sino-Indian relations.

"These skirmishes are not new, what is is that there have been deaths. It is a first since 1975," he explains. 

>> See also: In Kashmir, the population caught between India and Pakistan

Indeed, a bilateral agreement dating from 1993 prohibits the armies from firing on the opposing camp.

“The troops along the line of control are making visits. They can be armed but cannot fire. On June 15, there was no gunfire but a fight. Soldiers fell into the area. river ", specifies Jean-Luc Racine. 

On June 15, clashes had already taken place in the mountainous region of Ladakh.

At least 20 Indian soldiers died that day in hand-to-hand combat with their Chinese counterparts.

China, for its part, has not communicated the number of victims.

A threatened status quo

Following these new clashes, at the end of August, the Indian army accused China of "provocative military movements".

India in the wake announced having "taken measures to strengthen [its] positions and foil the intentions of China to unilaterally change the situation on the ground". 

For its part, Beijing has rejected all responsibility for these clashes.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said on Wednesday that "since the start of the current year, India has repeatedly violated bilateral agreements and an important consensus" on the border.

And to assert that India "has tried to unilaterally change the status quo by force, undermined peace, stability and caused tension in the border area. The responsibility undoubtedly rests with the Indian side". 

An old conflict

This line of control was defined in 1962, when India was defeated by China in a conflict over the Himalayan border.

But according to Jean-Luc Racine, "uncertainties remain around the route of this line".

Recent clashes have thus taken place in the Aksai Chin region, administered by Beijing but claimed by New Delhi.

According to Jean-Luc Racine, India is indeed based on "various British maps", inherited from India's independence in 1947. Documents which lead to "different interpretations" of the route of the line of control . 

In the Himalayas, the Chinese and Indian armies accuse each other of crossing the line of control that has separated the two countries since 1962. © Infographie France 24

For the Chinese, it is also a strategic area because it extends in particular over two Chinese provinces, Tibet and Xinjiang, where Beijing wishes to establish its sovereignty.

This desire for domination by Beijing could be at the origin of the strengthening of the litigation in this region of Kashmir.

"This border operation could be a way to revive the nationalist machine", indicates the researcher. 

For Jean-Luc Racine, the recent violence could also be linked to military responses.

"The Chinese have increased the infrastructure in this disputed area. And in recent years, the Indians have done the same on their side of the line of control in the Ladakh region. The Chinese may have wanted to come forward when they saw that the Indians were in the process of strengthening their positions, ”says the specialist. 

These events also occur more than a year after the abrogation of the autonomy of Jammu and Kashmir, an Indian region claimed by Pakistan.

“When the Indian government amended the change in status of Jammu and Kashmir, it also released a new map that redefines the regions. For the Indian authorities, this new map only put back on the table Indian claims that do not do not recognize the Chinese and Pakistani occupations "in Kashmir, explains Jean-Luc Racine.

This decision could, according to him, have triggered a reaction from Beijing. 

Despite this renewed tension at the border, open conflict is unlikely, according to the specialist.

"It would surprise me that these tensions degenerate because it is not in the interest of the two parties", affirms Jean-Luc Racine.

China is indeed experiencing growing tensions with the United States and is a major trading partner for India.

Talks between officers from both sides were held on Wednesday, but no progress that could ease tensions was announced.

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