In the wee hours of Tuesday morning, 20 Indian soldiers were killed in clash with Chinese troops, where reportedly there was no exchange of fire. The incident took place in eastern Ladakh’s Galwan Valley where the two sides have been in a stand-off for a little over a month i.e. 40 days
The June 16 incident had media houses buzzing and several reports, including one claiming that 40 Chinese soldiers had been killed in retaliation, were doing the rounds. However, there is no official confirmation from both sides, even though there were casualties reported from the People’s Liberation Army.
Here’s what we know so far
- A commanding officer was among those on the Indian side who was killed. The officer was a colonel of the Bihar regiment.
- It all began just as the Chinese troops were getting ready to move away as per an agreement. But when the Indian troops moved to remove a People’s Liberation Army tent set up near a position code-named Patrolling Point 14, trouble erupted.
- In its initial statement, the Indian Army had said that the officer and two soldiers had been killed. However, later in the day, a report said that 17 other soldiers, who had been critically injured in the line of duty, had succumbed to their injuries.
- Meanwhile, latest reports say four Indian soldiers are in critical condition after the violent face-off with Chinese troops on Monday evening
- The statement has also said that both sides had disengaged in any situation that could escalate the situation between both sides
- India attributes Monday’s violence when the Chinese side ‘departed from the consensus to respect the LAC (Line of Actual Control) and attempted to “unilaterally change the status quo”.
- Beijing made no mention of any casualties while laying the blame squarely on New Delhi. Confirming the clash, it accused the Indian soldiers of crossing into the Chinese territory and attacking its personnel. The only admission of multiple casualties on the Chinese side came from the editor of the government mouthpiece Global Times.
- Defence Minister Rajnath Singh held two meetings with three service chiefs
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been briefed on the developments.
- This is the first casualties for India in a clash with the PLA since 1975 when an Indian patrol was ambushed by Chinese troops in Arunachal Pradesh.
