India-China

A violent scuffle along the disputed and informal border known as the Line of Actual Control resulted in the deaths of at least twenty Indian soldiers and an unknown number of Chinese soldiers, with many others possibly injured on both sides. Crisis Group expert Pierre Prakash says the fighting in Ladakh region’s mountainous Galwan Valley broke out despite ongoing rounds of military and diplomatic talks aimed at de-escalating weeks of border tensions. It marks the deadliest incident between the two sides in over five decades. With neither party seeking a broader conflict, both need to show the utmost restraint to avoid any further escalation, retreat to their pre-April military positions and commit to resolving the longstanding border dispute through diplomatic channels.