New Delhi (CNN) China and India have accused each other's troops of firing warning shots during a confrontation Monday on their disputed border in the Himalayas, a marked escalation in tensions between the two nuclear powers. The incident is reportedly the first time shots have been fired along the Sino-Indian border in more than four decades, but both sides have blamed the other for violating bilateral agreements and taking "provocative" actions. In a statement on Monday night, a spokesperson for the Chinese People's Liberation Army's Western Theater Command said Indian troops "illegally crossed" the Line of Actual Control (LAC), the loosely defined demarcation line that separates the two countries, and entered the Shenpao mountain region near the southern bank of Pangong Tso, a strategically located lake in the western section of the 2,100 mile (3,379 kilometer) long border. "The Indian troops brazenly fired warning shots at Chinese border patrols troops who came up to negotiate, and the Chinese border troops were forced to take countermeasures to stabilize the situation," said Senior Colonel Zhang Shuili, the Chinese military spokesperson, without specifying what those "countermeasures" were. Calling it a "serious military provocation," Zhang asked the India side to "immediately stop dangerous actions ... strictly restrain frontline troops and seriously investigate and punish personnel who fired shots to ensure similar incidents do not occur again."

Source: CNN September 08, 2020 09:56 UTC