In the High Himalayas, Troops Throw Rocks at Each Other

Indian and Chinese soldiers yelled and hurled stones at one another in the high Himalayas in Indian-controlled Kashmir, Indian officials said Wednesday after an altercation that escalated tensions between two nations already engaged in a lengthy border standoff elsewhere. The Chinese soldiers hurled stones while attempting to enter Ladakh region near Pangong Lake on Tuesday but were confronted by Indian soldiers, said a top police officer. The officer said Indian soldiers retaliated but neither side used guns. China did not immediately comment.

An Indian intelligence officer said the confrontation occurred after Indian soldiers intercepted a Chinese patrol that veered into Indian-held territory after it apparently lost its way due to bad weather, the AP reports. The officer said the soldiers soon began shouting at each other and later threw stones. He said some soldiers from both sides received minor injuries. After nearly 30 minutes of facing off, the two sides retreated to their positions, he said. Soldiers from the two countries are already locked in a bitter but non-violent standoff in Doklam, an area disputed between China and India's ally Bhutan, where New Delhi sent its soldiers in June to stop China from constructing a strategic road. (More Kashmir stories.)