WHEN the Indian subcontinent bumped into Eurasia 40m years ago, the collision produced the mighty Himalayas. The world’s two most populous nations, India and China, are still colliding across that majestic range. In June, a few dozen soldiers from each side tussled in a shoving and shouting match on a remote plateau just inside borders claimed by a tiny neighbour, Bhutan. Another brawl broke out in mid-August far to the west along the shores of Pangong Tso, a desert lake that stretches between Ladakh in India and Tibet in China (see maps). The latest encounter involved sticks and stones. A few people were hurt.
It may seem more ridiculous than alarming that two ancient nations, which happen to be nuclear-armed and have a combined population of 2.7bn, should engage in garden-fence fisticuffs. The last time anyone was killed along the 3,500km frontier was in 1975. Few analysts expect the current argy-bargy to turn into full-scale war. Once winter sets in, all but a few stretches of the...Continue reading
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