Price of land

Recently India and China were involved in border conflict. Why were they in conflict? Ofcourse age old reason land. China occupied a piece of land in Indian territory and indian soldiers retaliated. In the process both sides lost lives. All this raises one question what is the 'price of land'. Is life meaningless without land. Soldiers should die for land. The piece of land which comes in remotest of area under very bad weather condition and will not be populated in the next 50 years. So is land so important that 20 lives of indian soldiers should be lost over this conflict. Are their no other ways of resolving a conflict or a land that has been lost. Will that land be of use except for map drawings. So how should that land be priced? Over life or over self respect and self esteem.