*NEW DELHI/BEIJING – India and China have accused each other of firing inthe air during a new confrontation on their border in the westernHimalayas, in a further escalation of military tension between thenuclear-armed nations.*
Hundreds of troops are in eyeball-to-eyeball proximity along the remoteborder, which erupted in a clash in June that killed 20 Indian soldiers inhand-to-hand fighting, Reuters has reported.
Both sides have observed a long-held protocol to avoid using firearms onthe sensitive, undemarcated frontier, though this agreement has notprevented casualties.
On Monday night, troops of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) attempted toclose in on a forward Indian position at the Line of Actual Control (LAC),or the de factor border, in the Ladakh sector, the Indian army said in astatement.
“And when dissuaded by own (Indian troops), PLA troops fired a few roundsin the air in an attempt to intimidate own troops,” the army said in astatement on Tuesday, adding that the Indian side acted with restraint.
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“At no stage has the Indian Army transgressed across the LAC or resorted touse of any aggressive means, including firing,” it said.
But China said the Indians had breached the informal border through thesouthern bank of the Pangong Tso lake, where tension has been rising formore than a week.
