The latest escalation came just two days after Indian and Chinese defence ministers met in Moscow on September 5 to try and end the impasse

The Indian Army on Tuesday denied that that it had resorted to firing or any other aggressive measures across the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh and accused China of blatantly violating bilateral agreements and carrying out aggressive manoeuvres in the region amid de-escalation talks.

“At no stage has the Indian Army transgressed across the LAC or resorted to use of any aggressive means, including firing,” the Army said in a statement. “It is the PLA [People’s Liberation Army] that has been blatantly violating agreements and carrying out aggressive manoeuvres, while engagement at military, diplomatic and political level is in progress.”

The Army added: “In the instant case on 07 September 2020, it was the PLA troops who were attempting to close-in with one of our forward positions along the LAC and when dissuaded by own troops, PLA troops fired a few rounds in the air in an attempt to intimidate own troops. However, despite the grave provocation, own troops exercised great restraint and behaved in a mature and responsible manner.”

China on Monday night claimed Indian soldiers fired warning shots in a new confrontation at the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh near the southern bank of Pangong Tso lake. As a result, the country said it took “countermeasures to stabilize the situation on the ground”. The accusation was made in a statement issued just after midnight in Beijing by Colonel Zhang Shuili, spokesperson for the PLA Western Theatre Command.

The latest escalation came just two days after Indian and Chinese defence ministers met in Moscow on September 5 to try and end the impasse. It was the first high-level direct contact between the sides since the standoff erupted in the Ladakh region four months ago.