The Indian troops deployed in the area of face-off on Friday in Arunachal Pradesh's Tawang sector gave a befitting response to the Chinese troops and the number of Chinese soldiers injured in the clash is more than the Indian soldiers, sources said on Monday.
Sources said the Chinese had come heavily prepared with around 300 soldiers but did not expect the Indian side to be well prepared.
The Indian Army saidon Monday tha Indian and Chinese troops clashed along the Line of Actual Control in the Tawang sector of Arunachal Pradesh on December 9 and the face-off resulted in "minor injuries to a few personnel from both sides".
The clash near Yangtse along the LAC in the sensitive sector took place last Friday amid the over 30-month border standoff between the two sides in eastern Ladakh.
"On December 9, PLA troops contacted the LAC in Tawang Sector which was contested by own (Indian) troops in a firm and resolute manner. This face-off led to minor injuries to few personnel from both sides," the Army said in a statement.
"Both sides immediately disengaged from the area. As a follow up of the incident, own (Indian) commander in the area held a flag meeting with his counterpart to discuss the issue in accordance with structured mechanisms to restore peace and tranquillity," it said.
The Army statement did not mention the number of troops involved in the face-off and those injured in the incident.
The Army said there are areas of "differing perception" along the LAC in the Tawang sector.
"In certain areas along the LAC in the Tawang Sector in Arunachal Pradesh there are areas of differing perception, wherein both sides patrol the area up to their claim lines. This has been the trend since 2006," the Army said.
It is learnt that the injuries on the Chinese side could be higher.
It is the first major clash between the Indian and Chinese armies since August 2020 near Rinchen La in eastern Ladakh.
Indian and Chinese troops were engaged in a brief face-off near Yangtse in October last year as well and it was resolved following talks between local commanders of the two sides as per established protocols.
The ties between India and China nosedived significantly following the fierce clash in the Galwan Valley in June 2020 that marked the most serious military conflict between the two sides in decades.
With input from PTI
