Mandie Gallion
Small miscalculation in the Himalayas could put New Delhi and Beijing into great conflict, the former Indian security adviser warned.
Indian and Chinese soldiers fought many times from the end of April to the beginning of May with the culmination of the deadly scuffle on June 15.
Chinese and Indian soldiers rehearsal at a sports field in Meghalaya state, India, December 2019 Photo: PLA
The two most populous countries in the world held many military and diplomatic talks to cool down tensions, and discussed the withdrawal of reinforcements for the border area.
A clash allegedly broke out and lasted for three hours on September 7 near the Reality Control Line (LAC), acting as the border between the two countries.
"I realize that small miscalculations can lead to big mistakes," Mayankodu Kelath Narayanan, a former Indian national security adviser, told CNBC on September 9.
Narayanan warned India and China are in "potentially risky" situation.
In the September 7 clash, the Indian Foreign Ministry stated that Chinese soldiers were trying to close up to an Indian outpost along the LAC and "fired a few shots just to show prestige".
Meanwhile, China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs denied the accusations and said Indian soldiers "illegally crossed the border" and "blatantly opened fire and threatened the Chinese border guards approaching them".
The location has occurred in clashes between Indian and Chinese soldiers over the past few months Photo: Telegraph
Narayanan said that since soldiers on both sides of the front line were stationed not far apart, "a fatal mistaken shot could seriously escalate tensions" and could cause a greater conflict between India and China,
India and China in 1996 reached an agreement not to open fire on the western Himalayan highlands border to avoid a full-scale military conflict, but there was no binding enforcement mechanism.
The Indian government on August 31 accused China of carrying out "provocative military activities" three months after "the Chinese army annexed 60 square kilometers of Indian territory in Ladakh".
Indian police sources said their forces were fighting for three hours with Chinese soldiers in the narrow valley of Spanggur, near Chushul village in East Ladakh on August 28.
However, at a press conference on the same day, China's Foreign Ministry denied the accusations that the country's military would cross the LAC, the actual border between India.
The location has occurred in clashes between Indian and Chinese soldiers over the past few months.
