Indian troops gather on Chinese border after soldiers clash
‘Volatile’ situation worsening after skirmish 12 days ago

India has moved more troops to its disputed border with China after a clash between soldiers of the two nations.
The Indian government said that it was mobilising thousands of troops along the mountainous 2,100-mile border, after an “encroachment” by Chinese forces triggered a scuffle with Indian troops 12 days ago.
The “nuclear-armed rivals” have been “locked in a stand-off” along the border for more than two years, said The Times, after China crossed the border to “seize strategic positions” in the disputed region of Ladakh, triggering a clash that left 20 Indian troops and at least four Chinese soldiers dead.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The two nations share a disputed 3,440km (2,100-mile) de facto border – known as the Line of Actual Control – which is “poorly demarcated”, said the BBC. Rivers, lakes and snowcaps mean the “line can shift” and “the soldiers on either side” come “face to face at many points”.
In the light of the latest flare-up, Delhi claimed its troops had repelled the incursion after a clash that left soldiers on both sides with minor injuries. However, noted The Times, the situation “remains volatile” as China “steps up its military presence on the border, probing for weaknesses and moving tanks and artillery up to the frontier”.
Meanwhile, India’s opposition has accused Narendra Modi’s government of failing to take the threat seriously but foreign minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar insisted that the Indian army will not let Beijing change the status quo along the border “unilaterally”.
Rejecting Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s criticism of the government’s handling, he said “the army did not go there because Rahul Gandhi asked them to go” but “went there because the prime minister of India ordered them to go”, reported the Middle East North Africa Financial Network.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Chas Newkey-Burden has been part of The Week Digital team for more than a decade and a journalist for 25 years, starting out on the irreverent football weekly 90 Minutes, before moving to lifestyle magazines Loaded and Attitude. He was a columnist for The Big Issue and landed a world exclusive with David Beckham that became the weekly magazine’s bestselling issue. He now writes regularly for The Guardian, The Telegraph, The Independent, Metro, FourFourTwo and the i new site. He is also the author of a number of non-fiction books.
-
Taking aim at Venezuela’s autocrat
Feature The Trump administration is ramping up military pressure on Nicolás Maduro. Is he a threat to the U.S.?
-
Comey indictment: Is the justice system broken?
Feature U.S. attorney Lindsey Halligan has indicted former FBI Director James Comey on charges of lying and obstructing Congress
-
Government shuts down amid partisan deadlock
Feature As Democrats and Republicans clash over health care and spending, the shutdown leaves 750,000 federal workers in limbo
-
Russia is ‘helping China’ prepare for an invasion of Taiwan
In the Spotlight Russia is reportedly allowing China access to military training
-
Interpol arrests hundreds in Africa-wide sextortion crackdown
IN THE SPOTLIGHT A series of stings disrupts major cybercrime operations as law enforcement estimates millions in losses from schemes designed to prey on lonely users
-
'Axis of upheaval': will China summit cement new world order?
Today's Big Question Xi calls on anti-US alliance to cooperate in new China-led global system – but fault lines remain
-
A private zoo run by Asia's richest family is facing criticism and investigations
Under the radar The zoo is owned by Anant Ambani, the son of Asia's richest person
-
China is silently expanding its influence in American cities
Under the Radar New York City and San Francisco, among others, have reportedly been targeted
-
Delhi's dogs earn Supreme Court reprieve
IN THE SPOTLIGHT After an outcry from the public and animal rights activists, India's Supreme Court walks back a controversial plan to round the city's stray dog population into shelters
-
India's fake weddings
Under The Radar New party trend promises all the fun of a wedding without any of the downsides
-
How China uses 'dark fleets' to circumvent trade sanctions
The Explainer The fleets are used to smuggle goods like oil and fish