20 Indian soldiers killed in “violent confrontation” with Chinese troops in Ladakh, sources say
New Delhi:
Twenty Indian soldiers, including a colonel, were killed Monday in a “violent confrontation” with Chinese troops in the Galwan Valley in Ladakh, government sources told GalacticGaming during the most serious border escalation in five decades, at a time when soldiers from both sides were disengaging. More than 43 Chinese soldiers have been killed or seriously injured, ANI news agency quoted sources as saying. India said the clashes took place “following an attempt by the Chinese side to unilaterally change the status quo”, refuting China’s claims that Indian soldiers would cross the border. It is the first deadly confrontation since 1975 between India and China, which waged a border war in 1962. Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with the Minister of the Interior Amit Shah and the Minister of Defense Rajnath Singh met with military leaders twice while India discussed a response to the huge development.
Here are the main developments of this great story:
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India said the clash was “an attempt by the Chinese side to unilaterally change the status quo” at the border. “India is very clear that all of its activities are still on the Indian side of the effective line of control. We expect the same on the Chinese side,” said Foreign Ministry spokesman Anurag Shrivastava. .
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Colonel B Santosh Babu of the Bihar regiment, Havildar Palani and Sepoy Ojha are three of the names confirmed by the army. “During the ongoing de-escalation process in the Galwan Valley, a violent confrontation took place last night with victims on both sides. The loss of life on the Indian side includes an officer and two soldiers. two sides are currently meeting at the scene to defuse the situation, “said the army statement.
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The soldiers were not shot but were killed in a physical fight on Indian territory involving stones and batons, the army said. “There was no shooting. No firearm was used. These were violent hand-to-hand fights,” said an anonymous officer quoted by Agence France Presse news agency.
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The clash took place just as Chinese troops were preparing to move away from a location in accordance with an agreement. The colonel was reportedly attacked with stones and Indian soldiers retaliated, which resulted in the closure of unarmed combat for several hours. The soldiers disengaged after midnight.
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The only confession of victims on the Chinese side so far has come from the editor of their government spokesperson for the Global Times. “From what I know, the Chinese side also suffered losses during the physical shock of the Galwan valley. I mean on the Indian side, don’t be arrogant and misinterpret China’s restraint as weak. China does not want to be in shock with India, but we are not afraid of it, “tweeted Hu Xijin, editor of The Global Times.
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Beijing, in an aggressive statement, accused India of crossing the border, “of attacking Chinese personnel,” AFP reported. The Chinese foreign ministry was quoted by Reuters as saying that India should not take unilateral measures or cause unrest. “What is shocking is that on June 15, the Indian side seriously violated our consensus and crossed the border twice and provoked and attacked the Chinese forces, provoking a violent physical confrontation between the two border forces”, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told reporters. In Beijing. “China is raising strong opposition and harsh representations from the Indian side on this issue,” he said.
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For more than six weeks, soldiers on both sides have been stuck in at least two places along the actual line of control – the de facto 3,488 km border between India and China, and have rushed additional troops at the border. . They clashed on the Galwan River, which was one of the first triggers of the war between India and China in 1962, and at Pangong Tso – a glacial lake at 14,000 feet on the Tibetan plateau.
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On May 9, several Indian and Chinese soldiers were injured in a clash involving punching and throwing stones in Naku La, in the Indian state of Sikkim, which borders Bhutan, Nepal and China.
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After weeks of confrontation, including an incident in which soldiers on patrol clashed on the shores of Pangong Lake, injuring others, friction subsided after the talks. Indian and Chinese military commanders were in talks in the Galwan Valley area and in Hot Springs. The Chinese military had previously withdrawn troops from the Galwan Valley, the PP-15 and hot springs in the eastern region of Ladakh. The Indian side also brought back part of its troops and vehicles from these regions.
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AFP cited Indian sources and reports that Chinese troops remained in parts of the Galwan Valley and on the north shore of Pangong Tso Lake.
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Diplomats say China is devastated by India’s construction of roads and airstrips in the region. The government has lobbied to improve connectivity and by 2022, 66 key roads along the Chinese border will have been built. One of these routes is near the Galwan Valley, which connects to the Daulat Beg Oldi air base, which opened last October. Chinese military spokesman Colonel Zhang Shuili said on Tuesday that “China still has sovereignty over the Galwan Valley region”.
