China reinforced its troops near the Indian border with mountain climbers and martial arts fighters shortly before a deadly clash this month, state media reported.
Tensions within the mountainous border terrain are common between the 2 nuclear-armed neighbors, but this month's fighting was their deadliest encounter in nearly 50 years.
Five new militia divisions, including former members of an Everest Olympic torch relay team and fighters from a mixed martial arts club, presented themselves for inspection at Lhasa, the capital of Tibet, on June 15, the official military newspaper China National Defense News reported.
State broadcaster CCTV showed footage of many new troops lining up within the Tibetan capital.
Tibet commander Wang Haijiang said the Enbo Fight Club recruits would "greatly raise the organization and mobilization strength" of troops and their "rapid response and supportability," China National Defence News reported, although he didn't explicitly confirm their deployment was linked to ongoing border tensions.
Later that day, Indian and Chinese troops brawled for several hours within the Galway Valley in Ladakh, using stones and nail-studded clubs to beat one another, killing 20 Indian soldiers and injuring a minimum of 76 more.
The clash on June 15 was the deadliest conflict between the 2 sides in 45 years. China has not said whether it suffered any casualties.
The neighbors have continued responsible for one another for the high-altitude battle
Pointing fingers
India said on Thursday that it had reinforced its troops within the contested Himalayan border region, saying it had been matching an identical buildup by China.
Chinese state media have in recent weeks highlighted military activity, including high-altitude anti-aircraft drills within the Tibet region bordering India.
The new troops were recruited with the aim of "strengthening the border and stabilizing Tibet", China National Defence News said.
India claims Chinese troops ambushed Indian soldiers and made them down a ridge where that they had gone to get rid of a Chinese "encroachment".
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A bilateral accord prevents the utilization of guns but the fighting, with rudimentary weapons, was still fierce.
China has, in turn, accused Indian soldiers of twice crossing the road of Actual Control, the de facto border, provoking its troops.
The two countries fought a war over the border in 1962. there's an understanding between the nuclear-armed neighbors that their troops within the disputed and inhospitable region won't use firearms.
China claims about 90,000 square kilometers (35,000 square miles) of territory in India's northeast, while India says China occupies 38,000 square kilometers (15,000 square miles) of its territory within the Aksai Chin Plateau within the Himalayas, a contiguous a part of the Ladakh region.
India unilaterally declared Ladakh a federal territory, carving it out of Indian-administered Kashmir in August 2019. China was among the countries to condemn the move, raising it at forums including the UN Security Council.
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