NEW DELHI: India's Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday that Chinese troops had "engaged in provocative action" on the border on Monday even as military commanders held talks to defuse tensions.

"Even as the ground commanders of the two sides were in discussions to de-escalate the situation, the Chinese troops again engaged in provocative action," ministry spokesman Anurag Srivastava said.

"Due to the timely defensive action, the Indian side was able to prevent these attempts to unilaterally alter the status quo."