They are the two most manned armies in the world: China and India together have more than 3.5 million combat-ready troops, equipped with nearly 500 nuclear warheads and around ten thousand tanks.

There have now been fresh clashes between soldiers from both sides on the Sino-Indian border in the Himalayas. But instead of using heavy weapons, the warriors attacked each other with bamboo sticks!

Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh announced on Tuesday that soldiers were injured on both sides. The incident took place on Friday in the northeastern Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh.

India’s Minister Singh accused Chinese troops of raiding the border area in Tawang district. The Indian army managed to repel the invaders.

Reason for confrontation: China claims the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh as its own. Repeated incidents occurred at the border, most recently in June 2020. At that time, 20 Indian soldiers and four Chinese soldiers died in the fighting. They attacked each other with fists, clubs and stones.

Because: To prevent war, soldiers in the area usually refrain from using firearms. Likewise on Friday. Renowned political scientist Carlo Masala (54, Bundeswehr University) shared a video of the incident on Twitter. You can see soldiers screaming on both sides fighting with sticks. As the battle progresses, the Indian army defeats the Chinese attackers.

After the 2020 incident, the Chinese and Indian armies have each deployed thousands of troops along the border. After complicated negotiations, the first signs point to relaxation in early 2021: By then, countries agreed to partially withdraw their troops. Last September, China and India withdrew more troops. In 1962, the nuclear powers had waged a short but fierce border war.