INDIA and China agreed yesterday to ease tensions at their disputed Himalayan border, even as they traded blame for a brawl that left at least 20 Indian soldiers dead.

The two nations’ foreign ministers spoke by telephone to calm nerves after a high-altitude melee involving fists, rocks and clubs.

The call between China’s Wang Yi and India’s Subrahmanyam Jaishankar came as sources told AFP that Indian paramilitaries were being deployed to the area of the skirmish high in the Himalayas opposite Tibet.

China’s state broadcaster CCTV, meanwhile, showed footage of People’s Liberation Army tanks and soldiers holding live fire drills in Tibet.

China has refused to confirm if it suffered any casualties in the first deadly clashes at the border in decades, although Indian media said at least 40 Chinese troops were killed or seriously hurt.

The Chinese foreign ministry said in a statement that Wang demanded “India conduct a thorough investigation” and punish those responsible.

“The Indian side must not misjudge the current situation and must not underestimate China’s firm will to safeguard its territorial sovereignty,” it added.

India’s foreign ministry said Jaishankar “conveyed the protest” of his government.

He warned that “this unprecedented development will have a serious impact on the bilateral relationship” and urged Beijing to “take corrective steps”.

But the two ministers also sought to de-escalate tensions.

The incident, which took place on Monday at around 4,500m up in the Galwan valley area, dominated Indian news channels and inflamed social media in both countries.

In India, small groups of protesters called for the boycott of Chinese goods, with some burning posters of Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi told the nation the deaths of the soldiers “will not be in vain”.

Sources told AFP that military transport aircraft had made a number of rare night-time landings in Leh, capital of India’s Ladakh region opposite China’s Tibet, throughout Tuesday night.

The clashes reportedly involved intense hand-to-hand fighting but no gunfire, in line with longstanding practices aimed at avoiding a full military confrontation over the disputed 3,500km border. 

An Indian army source told AFP there were “violent hand-to-hand scuffles”, while media said that Chinese troops attacked with rods and nail-studded clubs. 

Many of these killed appear to have been punched or shoved off a ridge onto rocks and into an icy river below.

Post-mortem examinations on some of those killed showed that the “primary reason for death is drowning and it looks like they fell from a height into the water because of head injuries”” an official told AFP.

Sources said yesterday that six Indian soldiers were still missing. – AFP, June 18, 2020.