Beijing, Jan. 26 -- China has passed a law for the first time which explicitly allows its coastguards to fire on foreign vessels and demolish structures built in disputed waters, giving a chance to escalate tension with the neighbours.

The coastguard law, passed on Friday by China's top legislative body, the National People's Congress Standing Committee, came two years after China's military assumed control of the previously civilian maritime body in 2018, reported The South China Morning Post.

Meanwhile, a fresh clash between the Indian and Chinese soldiers broke out in Sikkim's Naku La last week causing injuries on both sides amid the ongoing border-standoff between the two Asian giants, media reports said.

The clash reportedly took ...