India and China – a high-altitude skirmish

Chinese and Indian soldiers were literally at each other’s throats in a confrontation in a largely uninhabited, disputed Himalayan border area between Tibet and Ladakh. Both have accused the other of provoking fighting in which at least 20 Indian soldiers were killed after a brawl with sticks, bats, rocks and bamboo sticks studded with nails. No shots were fired. The injured were exposed to sub-zero temperatures in the high-altitude terrain. The risk is that a minor spat will escalate to a