Imperative no escalation of border clash

In what has been the most deadly military confrontation between the two neighbors in more than four decades, Chinese and Indian border troops engaged in a deadly clash in the Ladakh region, a yet-to-be-demarcated area between the two countries high in the Himalayas, on Monday, resulting in heavy casualties on both sides.

Although no shots were fired, Indian officials said on Tuesday that 20 Indian soldiers died during the fighting in which iron rods and stones were used.

China has not released details of the deaths and injuries on its side, in an attempt to avoid any notion of winners or losers and prevent any escalation of tensions, but with casualties on both sides and tensions having been simmering for a while before boiling over, the incident cannot but raise worries that the situation risks running out of control.