NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India’s foreign ministry said on Tuesday the face-off that led to the deaths of three Indian troops along its disputed border with China was a result of an attempt by Beijing “to unilaterally change the status quo there”.

Both sides suffered casualties that could have been avoided had China followed a prior agreement to deescalate tensions, Anurag Srivastava, the ministry’s official spokesman, said in a statement.

The casualties are the first in 53 years to result from a clash between the nuclear-armed neighbours.