Three Indian soldiers killed after clashing with Chinese military

Three Indian soldiers have been killed in a clash with Chinese forces  in the disputed Kashmir region. 

The Indian army spokesperson said  "senior military officials of the two sides are meeting to defuse the situation", adding that both sides suffered injuries and fatalities.

According to a report by Reuters agency ,Chinese military responded by calling on India not to take unilateral actions that could end up worsening the tensions.

China accused India of violating the border restrictions by crossing the Chinese border and attacking Chinese soldiers, the AFP agency said.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian is reportedly to have said  that India had crossed the border, "provoking and attacking Chinese personnel, resulting in serious physical confrontation between border forces on the two sides".

Beijing has not announced any Chinese casualties. The country's Global Times newspaper reported that "solemn representations" had been made with India over the incident. 

The clash comes amid rising tensions between the two countries. India has accused China of sending thousands of troops into Ladakh's Galwan valley. 

The deaths are believed to be the first in decades in a confrontation between the two powers. They have fought only one war so far, in 1962, when India suffered a humiliating defeat. 

India accuses China of occupying 38,000 sq km of its territory. Several rounds of talks in the last three decades have failed to resolve the boundary disputes.

Last month dozens of Indian and Chinese soldiers exchanged physical blows in a clash on the border in the northeastern state of Sikkim. And in 2017, the two countries clashed in the region after China tried to extend a border road through a disputed plateau.