PV International Desk : Indian and Chinese military commanders have agreed to step back from a confrontation over a disputed stretch of border where a clash last week left 20 Indian soldiers dead, government officials in New Delhi and Beijing said on Tuesday.
During the clash in the Galwan Valley on June 15, soldiers from both sides beat each other with rocks and wooden sticks embedded with nails. But both sides have observed a long-held protocol to avoid using firearms on the sensitive, high altitude frontier.
The deadliest border clash in more than half a century between the nuclear armed giants had stunned India, and fuelled calls for a boycott of goods from China, its second biggest trading partner.
And while the agreement by commanders on the ground to step back will cool the situation, nationalist sentiment in India has been whipped up, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi remains under pressure to show he won’t be bullied by China.
Speaking in Beijing, China’s foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said the two sides had agreed to work toward peace and tranquillity.
Edited By-Shekhar Tripaty