India-China LAC Stand-Off: 1 Officer, 2 Soldiers Martyred

An officer and two jawans were martyred on Monday night following a violent face-off in eastern Ladakh's Galwan Valley where Indian and Chinese troops were in the process of disengagement. The fresh escalation comes after India and China had begun the process of disengagement.

Media reports stated that top military officials of both sides are now engaged in a dialogue.

China appears to have scaled up its offensive against India across the Line of Actual Control (LAC). This violent face-off is the first incident of loss of life in such border violence in 45 years. The last time there was armed confrontation between India and China on the border was in 1975, experts point out. Such serious escalation of violence in the middle of a process of disengagement has left military observers nonplussed.

Indian and Chinese soldiers have clashed over the past six weeks after China hindered normal patrolling patterns of the Indian army in eastern Ladakh, leading to a skirmish on one occasion . Following a series of meetings between military officials at the Lieutenant-General and Major General level, the two countries decided to begin a process of disengagement.

Media reports quoted China as accusing India of stirring up trouble. China has now accused India of crossing the Line of Actual Control, as per media reports.