New Delhi June 16

 An Indian army officer and two soldiers were killed in a “violent face-off” on Monday night with Chinese soldiers at Galwan Valley in Ladakh, in a massive escalation at a time there were efforts to defuse weeks of tension at the border. India retaliated and there were casualties on both sides, said the army. Army sources say the soldiers were not shot but were killed in hand-to-hand combat on Indian Territory. Major Generals of both sides are meeting currently, according to an official statement. This is the first violent incident involving fatalities since 1967 between India and China, who fought a brief border war in 1962.

China’s Global Times quoted their foreign minister as saying two Indian soldiers had “crossed into Chinese territory twice on Monday in a serious violation of the consensus reached earlier” between the two countries. “They provoked and attacked the Chinese side, leading to a severe physical brawl. China has lodged protests and representations to the Indian side,” said Chinese Foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian. He told reporters, according to AFP, that Beijing has lodged “strong protests and solemn representations” to Delhi.