Indo-Pacific news
The border stand-off between China and India heated up again in early September, with the nuclear powers accusing each other of firing warning shots.
Following tensions between border troops which culminated in hand-to-hand combat in June, the latest incident came to light on Monday September 7 when the Western Theater Command of China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) accused Indian troops of crossing the line of control separating the two sides, and firing warning shots at a PLA patrol that approached them to investigate.
India rejected the accusations, saying on September 8 that its troops neither crossed the line of control nor fired warning shots, and that it was PLA troops which attempted to approach its forward positions and then fired shots into the air when “dissuaded” from doing so by Indian soldiers.
If either account is true it would represent the first time in 45 years that shots have been fired at the border between the two sides, who fought a brief border war in 1962.