fy that their soldiers were in fact patrolling the border areas within the Chinese territory. The border dispute between the two Asian giants in the Aksai Chin region is one that dates back to the 1962 war, and a final solution on the matter continues to elude the two states. Both countries issued quick sta

ttle rival claims to the border territory, not just to manage clashes. This almost certainly means accepting existing areas of control: China keeps Aksai Chin in the west, India holds on to Arunachal Pradesh in the east. And Mr Singh said "negotiations towards a fair, reasonable, and mutually acceptable

as and overwhelmed India's unprepared and ill-equipped defenses, scattering its soldiers. Within days, the Chinese had wrested control of Kashmir's Aksai Chin plateau in the west and, in the east, neared India's vital tea-growing heartlands in Assam. Then, on Nov. 21, Beijing called a unilateral ceasefire