A border skirmish is a small-scale military conflict that takes place along the borders of two regions, countries, or groups. It is a form of hostilities that can be much more volatile than regular disputes and confrontations. It can often lead to serious casualties, especially in the case of major clashes that result in a war.
For example, during the Sino-Soviet border dispute of 1969, a violent skirmish took place when Chinese troops fired at Soviet border troops patrolling Zhenbao (Damanski), resulting in some 50 deaths. This event triggered the end of the near-war status quo between Beijing and Moscow. Both leaders, Zhou Enlai and Alexei Kosygin, attended Ho Chi Minh’s funeral shortly thereafter and agreed to hold high-level negotiations in the future to settle the border dispute.
In 2022, a border skirmish between India and China occurred when Indian troops clashed with Chinese soldiers along the Line of Actual Control in Arunachal Pradesh state, a disputed area. Both sides blamed each other for the incident and it led to a 16-day standoff that was resolved without escalation through military-level talks.
From a strategic point of view, skirmishes are important for keeping disputed territory in dispute and prevent that territory from being utilized by either side. Possession is nine tenths the law in most land disputes and it’s usually the use, settlement or exploration of disputed territory that leads to a full scale war. By poking at the disputed land with skirmishes, it can help keep the issue alive in the eyes of the public.