On Monday night Indian and Chinese troops engaged in a violent altercation in eastern Ladakh that has left 20 Indian Army officials dead. Reports suggest that there have been losses on the Chinese side too, with Indian intercepts stating that there have been 43 casualties including those who have died or been seriously injured.
According to a statement by the Indian Army, the clash happened as the result of an attempt by the Chinese troops to "unilaterally change" the status quo during de-escalation in Eastern Ladakh. The army had said that the situation could have been avoided if the agreement at the higher level had been scrupulously followed by the Chinese side.
Reportedly, Indian Army troopers were outnumbered by 1:5 when they came under attack from the Chinese People's Liberation Army soldiers at patrolling point number 14 in Galwan Valley on the Line of Actual Control. Officials had earlier stated that no guns had been used in the skirmish. An Indian Army official told IANS that the Chinese troops had used all sorts of barbed wires and stones to attack the Indian soldiers.
But to understand the reason why, one has to take a look at the 1996 Bilateral Agreement signed by India and China on "Confidence-Building Measures in the Military Field Along the Line of Actual Control in the India-China Border Areas".
As per article VI of the Agreement, the two countries are not to open fire within two kilometers from the line of actual control. This had been stipulated to prevent "dangerous military activities" and does not apply to routine firing activities in small arms firing ranges.
As the first segment under Article VI states, "Neither side shall open fire, cause bio-degradation, use hazardous chemicals, conduct blast operations or hunt with guns or explosives within two kilometers from the line of actual control."
Now, it must be mentioned that the use of alternative weapons does not fall under any part of the agreement. Indeed, the same Article stipulates that border personnel should "exercise self-restraint and take all necessary steps to avoid an escalation of the situation".
"It was the deadliest attack carried on Indian Army personnel by the Chinese military to our memory," news agency IANS quoted a government source as saying. It was also the first time there had been casualties suffered by either armies since 1975 when an Indian patrol was ambushed by Chinese troops in Arunachal Pradesh.
However, few hours later a disturbing image of nail-studded rods, reportedly used by Chinese soldiers to attack Indian soldiers on Monday night has garnered outrage on social media.
Senior journalist Ajai Shukla, who shared the image tweeted, “The nail-studded rods — captured by Indian soldiers from the Galwan Valley encounter site — with which Chinese soldiers attacked an Indian Army patrol and killed 20 Indian soldiers. Such barbarism must be condemned. This is thuggery, not soldiering,” he tweeted.
On Thursday, former Congress president Rahul Gandhi hit out at Modi government over the killing of 20 Indian soldiers by the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) in an unprecedented attack in Ladakh's Galwan Valley and asked why soldiers were sent "unarmed" to martyrdom.
"How dare China kill our unarmed soldiers? Why were our soldiers sent unarmed to martyrdom?" Rahul Gandhi asked the government in a tweet on Thursday.
Well, the Bilateral Agreement India and China probably answers the questions raised by Gandhi.
As per official sources, the death toll for Indian Army officials may rise as some individuals are "critically injured".
(With inputs from agencies)
