Photo of Gurudongmar Lake, Sikkim India by Tanmay Jain

BEIJING — India and China will use nonlethal paintballs instead of live ammunition to settle an ongoing feud over land, announced Zhao Lijian, a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

“The international community is right to judge harshly for needless bloodshed. Instead, we will use nonlethal means to solve our differences. Let the games begin!”

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomes the challenge.

"Let them come. We welcome the challenge. It will only make our victory taste sweeter," Mr. Modi exclaimed, dressed head-to-toe in paintball gear.

Over the last year, the two countries intensified fights in Sikkim, a mountainous state in Northern India. The region borders China and is separated by the Himalayas. UN member states including the U.S., Australia, Turkey, Great Britain, and South Africa urged the two nations to make peace. Rather than make peace, however, the Asian countries agreed to settle the dispute over the largest paintball fight in history.

The land conflict started in 1962 between the two Asian powers. Since then, they have engaged in mostly nonlethal skirmishes in the Ladakh region. Recently, rising tensions have led to an unknown number of deaths. Both nations are suppressing news on skirmishes, though there are an estimated 100,000 troops from Indian and Chinese armies gathered in Ladakh.

“Well, I suppose it is better this way than what we had before,” commented Peter Schilling, the UN's special rapporteur on the Chinese and Indian conflict. Schilling will lead a team of UN referees to keep track of who’s been tagged.

“If this is going to happen, we need to make sure it is done fairly, or else I fear China and India will continue employing lethal weapons.”

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