Condition at the border: On India-China face-off

With the deaths of a minimum of 20 Indian soldiers, and reports of Chinese soldier casualties in clashes at the Galwan valley in Ladakh, India and China have actually gone into uncharted territory on the Line of Actual Control, the first combat deaths since 1975, and the first such in the Galwan Valley since the 1962 war. The brutality of the clashes, with serious injuries and deaths incurred in spite of the truth that no shots were fired, is all also unusual thus far. The deaths happened when the two armies had agreed to “disengage” and “de-escalate” the month-long stand-off, that makes the clashes especially stunning. China has now claimed sovereignty over the entire Galwan Valley, showing that it is not likely to pull back from this vital and hitherto non-contentious location, unless it is required to. In his talks with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi appeared to countenance this brand-new position, and even contacted India to “punish those accountable” for crossing the LAC, triggering India to accuse China of attempting to “alter” the LAC with this “premeditated and scheduled action” by its forces. On the other hand, reports that C