The Indian military issued a statement on Jan. 25 saying it was confirmed that a small standoff between Indian and Chinese troops occurred on Jan. 20 in the Naku La area and that local commanders resolved the issue in accordance with established protocols. The media was asked not to exaggerate reports that do not conform to the facts.
Earlier in the day, several mainstream Indian media reported fresh clashes between Chinese and Indian troops at the border. India Times reported on January 25, 2021, that multiple sources revealed that Indian and Chinese troops clashed a few days ago in the Naku La area of the Sikkim sector of the border, with injuries on both sides.
The report noted that Naku La was one of the sites of the initial standoff between China and India in early May 2020, with other standoffs in the Pangong Tso, Galwan Valley, Gogra areas and the Hot Springs area.
Sources said the situation is now under control.
Hu Xijin, editor-in-chief of the Chinese official media Global Times, said on Weibo on Jan. 25, “The Indian media report is basically false. The PLA frontline patrol logs have no relevant records. And the focus of the top military brass on both sides in recent days has been on the 9th round of army chief-level talks, not on a new border conflict. The two sides certainly did not have a clash of the scale described by the Indian media, and there were minor frictions between the two frontline forces from time to time, but if there were frictions where casualties occurred, it is unlikely that they were not even reflected in the Chinese patrol logs.”
Also according to Indian media sources, China and India held the 9th round of military commander-level talks on January 24 to break the deadlock in the border standoff. The Indian Printer revealed on January 25 that the negotiations lasted for 16 and a half hours. India and China successfully broke the “deadlock” on the Line of Actual Control (LAC), but they have not yet achieved a breakthrough in disengaging the militaries.
