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The deaths of 20 Indian soldiers in clashes with Chinese troops on the Himalayan border "will not be in vain", Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Wednesday, as the two Asian giants held high-level talks to try to calm escalating tensions.
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"I would like to assure the country that the sacrifice of our soldiers will not be in vain. For us, the unity and integrity of the country is the most important … India wants peace but is capable of giving a reply if provoked," Modi said in a televised address.
It was the Indian prime ministers first remarks on the deadly clashes between the two nuclear-armed nations following criticisms from opposition leaders and commentators over the Modi administrations silence.
The two nations' foreign ministers spoke by telephone to try to calm tensions on Wednesday, according to Beijing.
News of the call between China's Wang Yi and India's Subrahmanyam Jaishankar – which was not confirmed by New Delhi – came as sources told AFP that Indian paramilitaries were being deployed to the area of the skirmish high in the Himalayas opposite Tibet.
China has refused to confirm if it suffered any casualties in the first deadly clashes at the border in decades, although Indian media said at least 40 Chinese troops were killed or seriously hurt.
FRANCE 24's Mandakini Gahlot discusses the India-China border conflict
China demands India punish those responsible
The Chinese foreign ministry statement said Wang demanded "India conduct a thorough investigation" and punish those responsible.
"The Indian side must not misjudge the current situation, and must not underestimate China's firm will to safeguard its territorial sovereignty," it added.
The incident, which took place Monday at around 4,500 metres (15,000 feet) in the Galwan valley area, dominated India's rolling news channels on Wednesday and set social media alight.
Protests erupted in several parts of India Wednesday, with demonstrators calling for a boycott of Chinese goods with one burning posters of Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Sources told AFP that military transport aircraft had made a number of rare nighttime landings in Leh, capital of India's Ladakh region opposite China's Tibet throughout Tuesday night.
'Hurtling down' ridges
The clashes reportedly involved intense hand-to-hand fighting but no gunfire, in line with longstanding practices aimed at avoiding a full military confrontation over the disputed 3,500-kilometre (2,200-mile) border.
An Indian army source told AFP there were "violent hand-to-hand scuffles" while media said that Chinese troops attacked with rods and nail-studded clubs.
Many of these killed appear to have been punched or shoved off a ridge onto rocks and into an icy river below.
"They came hurtling down like free-falling objects," one source told AFP.
Postmortem examinations on those killed showed that the "primary reason for death is drowning and it looks like they fell from a height into the water because of head injuries", aRead More – Source
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