India: China tried to change 'status quo' on border in new flare-up

Chinese troops carried out military movements to "change the status quo" on the disputed Himalayan borders but they were blocked by Indian soldiers, the Indian government said on Monday.

The fresh flare-up between the Asian neighbours took place in the Ladakh border region on the night between August 29 and 30, a statement issued by India's defence ministry said.

The People's Liberation Army (PLA) troops "violated the previous consensus arrived at during military and diplomatic engagements during the ongoing standoff in eastern Ladakh and carried out provocative military movements to change the status quo," the statement said.

"Indian troops pre-empted this PLA activity on the southern bank of the Pangong Tso lake, undertook measures to strengthen our positions and thwart Chinese intentions to unilaterally change facts on ground," it said.

Indian military experts told domestic news channels that unilaterally changing the status quo of the de facto border, known as the Line of Actual Control, indicated that Chinese soldiers had attempted to cross the frontier.

Ladakh was the scene of a hand-to-hand combat between Indian and Chinese soldiers in June, in which 20 Indian troopers were killed after which the neighbours had begun on talks to de-escalate the situation.

The defence ministry said Monday the Indian army was committed to maintaining peace and tranquility through dialogue, "but is also equally determined to protect its territorial integrity."

A brigade commander-level flag meeting was in progress in the region to resolve the issues, the government said.