Published on : 20/10/2024

On October 20, 1962, the Sino–Indian War broke out.

The China-India border issue is a problem left over from history. Although China and India have never formally defined the border, there has always been a customary boundary that both sides abide by.

After India's independence, it initially adhered to this boundary. However, during the period of China's involvement in the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea, India adopted the illegal "McMahon Line" as its national border and successively occupied large areas of territory in the eastern and central sections of the Sino-Indian border.

Starting from 1961, the Indian army triggered border conflicts several times by crossing the actual control line in the western section first, and then in the eastern section.

During this period, India mobilised more than 10 brigades of the army and deployed the air force to launch a large scale armed attack on Chinese forces in both the eastern and western sections.

On October 20, 1962, after numerous ineffective warnings and a situation where tolerance had been pushed to its limit, Chinese border defence forces were forced to respond, quickly breaking down the attack of the Indian army and protecting the country's border.

The war lasted for one month. The Chinese government subsequently issued a statement on November 21, reaffirming that the China-India border issue must be resolved through negotiations, and announced a ceasefire on the entire Sino-Indian border starting the next day.

During the war, the Chinese army annihilated three Indian brigades, seriously damaged another three, and destroyed a portion of five other brigades.

On the other hand, the Chinese army lost 722 soldiers, and 1,697 were injured, with none captured.