Prime Minister Narendra Modi is on a surprise visit this Friday, July 3, in Ladakh (north), the Himalayan region bordering on China and recently the scene of a deadly confrontation between the Indian and Chinese armies.
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The Hindu nationalist went in the morning to a military base in the locality of Nimoo. He must then go to a hospital in Leh, the regional capital, to meet Indian soldiers injured in the clash with Chinese troops, a security source told AFP. The Chief of the Defense Staff and the Chief of the Army accompany the Prime Minister on his trip to this area where India has deployed significant military reinforcements in recent weeks.
During their first deadly altercation in 45 years, Indian and Chinese soldiers clashed on June 15 in a melee of extreme violence, in a disputed valley of this desert at high altitude. The shock cost the lives of 20 soldiers on the Indian side, and left an unknown number of victims in the Chinese ranks. The two Asian giants publicly reject responsibility for the incident and say they want a peaceful resolution to the crisis.
This confrontation caused an anti-Chinese fever spurt in Indian public opinion. Against the background of calls to boycott Chinese products, New Delhi announced Monday the ban of 59 Chinese applications (TikTok, Weibo, WeChat, CamScanner ...) in India in the name of national security.