India and China have been locked in a bitter border standoff in eastern Ladakh since May. (Representative)
India on Tuesday rejected claims by a Chinese professor that China was using microwave weapons to defeat Indian forces in an alleged border clash in the disputed region of Ladakh.
According to Indian officials, China is sowing “ fake news ” about the use of microwave weapons, referring to a claim by a Beijing-based professor that Chinese forces “ have transformed mountain tops in microwave oven ” during a recent clash with India that allowed Beijing to recapture two key hills in the disputed border region, the Washington Examiner reported.
“They are pure and poor psyops from China,” said an Indian official.
The Indian military issued a denial on Tuesday and noted that it was maintaining control of the heights.
“The claims cited by these media reports are false,” read a graphic tweeted by the Indian military. “No such incident has taken place in Ladakh.”
Media reports on the use of microwave weapons in eastern Ladakh are baseless. The news is FAKE. pic.twitter.com/Lf5AGuiCW0
– ADG PI – INDIAN ARMY (@adgpi) November 17, 2020
According to Washington Examiner, the Beijing-based professor claimed that Chinese forces have used guns to fight while upholding a decades-old agreement that the two nuclear-weapon neighbors would not use guns in conflict border workers.
“Within 15 minutes, those occupying the hills all started to vomit … They couldn’t stand up, so they fled. This is how we took back the land,” said Jin Canrong, professor of international relations at Renmin University, according to a British Journal.
The professor claimed the attack took place on August 29, but the Indian official said it never happened.
“If they brought us out of the heights, why is China still asking India to step back from these heights?” replied the source. “Our soldiers and tanks / equipment are still there, and we haven’t come down from the heights.”
Indian officials admitted in early September that Chinese forces took a “ provocative ” step on August 29, however, Chinese officials at the time appeared to admit India was still in control of the area, the Washington Examiner reported. .
“We urge India to strictly discipline its border troops, to stop all provocations at once, to immediately withdraw all personnel who entered illegally through [the unofficial boundary of the disputed area], and stop taking measures that could increase tensions or complicate matters, ”Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said in early September.
It is not known why the Chinese professor would make such a claim.
“It could just be bravado or the platform to use to launch the psyops,” the Indian official said.
Chinese and Indian troops have been at an impasse since early May along the Line of Effective Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh.
The situation along the LAC deteriorated in June following the clash in the Galwan Valley in which both sides suffered losses.
Twenty Indian soldiers were killed in the line of duty during the violent confrontation from June 15 to 16. This happened following an attempt by Chinese troops to unilaterally change the status quo during the de-escalation in eastern Ladakh.
