Indian troops ‘illegally’ crossed the border in Arunachal’s Tawang and “obstructed” Chinese troops, triggering a fresh stand-off last week, China said today, reported news agency AFP. This comes hours after the country claimed that the situation along the border with India is stable.

“As far as we understand, the China-India border situation is stable overall,” China foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said earlier in the first official statement since the face-off last Friday. The two sides “maintained unobstructed dialogue on the border issue through diplomatic and military channels”, he added.

On December 9, Indian and Chinese troops clashed near the Line of Actual Control, or LAC, in Arunachal Pradesh’s Tawang sector. Both sides sustained injuries in the hand-to-hand combat that ensued.

Over 200 Chinese soldiers with spiked clubs and sticks clashed with Indian soldiers in the Tawang sector, a source told news agency PTI. The clash near Yangtse along the LAC took place last Friday – the first since the border standoff between the two sides in eastern Ladakh in June 2020.

“PLA troops contacted the LAC in Tawang Sector, which was contested by our (Indian) troops in a firm and resolute manner. This face-off led to minor injuries to a few personnel from both sides,” the Army said in a statement.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh addressed the issue in parliament today and said the Indian Army bravely thwarted an attempt by the Chinese PLA to “unilaterally” change the status quo in the Yangtse area. There were no fatalities or serious injuries to Indian troops in the scuffle, he said.