India-China border skirmish signals volatile 'new normal'

NEW DELHI -- The latest clash between Indian and Chinese troops along their disputed Himalayan border underscores the precarious nature of efforts to de-escalate tensions between the nuclear-armed Asian giants, analysts say, warning of the danger of more flare-ups.

"This is the new normal along the LAC," said Harsh V. Pant, vice president at the New Delhi-based Observer Research Foundation think tank, referring to the de facto border known as the Line of Actual Control.