"There was a minor incident. There was some stone pelting from the Chinese side but the situation was quickly brought under control," he told AFP on condition of anonymity. The brief confrontation was resolved after Indian and Chinese sides retreated to their respective positions, he added. Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said she was not aware of the latest reports, but she added that "Chinese border troops are always committed to maintaining peace on the India-China border".
"We always patrol along the Chinese line of control. And we urge the Indian side to abide by the line of control and relevant conventions between the two sides," Hua said. Police in occupied Jammu and Kashmir, where Ladakh is located, said clashes were relatively common along the de facto border known as the Line of Actual Control (LAC). "These things happen every summer but this one was slightly prolonged and more serious but no weapons were used," a police source in Srinagar told AFP.
The Pangong lake area lies over 4,000 metres (13,000 feet) high on the Tibetan plateau. The latest incident comes amid an ongoing dispute between the two sides over a strategic Himalayan plateau thousands of kilometres away where hundreds of Indian and Chinese soldiers have been facing off against each other for more than two months.
The border trouble began in June when Chinese soldiers started to extend a road through the Doklam territory - known as "Donglang" in Chinese. The area is disputed between China and Bhutan. India, a close ally of Bhutan, then deployed troops to stop the construction project, prompting Beijing to point out that India has trespassed on Chinese soil.
China has said India must withdraw its troops before any proper negotiation takes place. India said both sides should withdraw their forces together. The plateau is strategically significant as it gives China access to the so-called "chicken's neck" - a thin strip of land connecting India's northeastern states with the rest of the country.
Indian media said the Chinese army had this year declined to participate in ceremonial meetings usually held to mark Independence Day on Tuesday. It was the first time since 2005 that the meetings were not held. The two nuclear-armed neighbours fought a brief war in 1962 in India's border state of Arunachal Pradesh. Tensions along the LAC rose in 2014 when Chinese soldiers moved into territory claimed by India, sparking a two-week military stand-off that overshadowed a visit by China's President Xi Jinping.
Reuters adds: Meanwhile, China on Wednesday urged India to protect the peace and stability of their border. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said she did not know details of the most recent incident. "But what I can tell you is that Chinese border forces have consistently and always dedicated themselves to protecting peace and tranquillity on the China-India border region and we have always patrolled on the Chinese side of the line of control," Hua told a daily news briefing.
"We urge the Indian side to scrupulously abide by relevant agreements, protocols and rules between the two countries and earnestly respect the 1959 line of control and earnestly protect the peace and stability of the border region." China says the Line of Actual Control was set in 1959 but India disputed that and the two sides went to war three years later. They have since been unable to agree where the dividing line between them lies.
China's Defence Ministry has yet to comment on the matter. The two sides have frequently accused each other of territorial intrusions, but clashes are rare. China has repeatedly asked India to unilaterally withdraw from the Doklam area, or face the prospect of an escalation. Chinese state media have warned India of a fate worse than its crushing defeat in a brief border war in 1962.
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2017
Copyright Reuters, 2017