Galwan Valley: China to use martial arts trainers after border clash with India


Media playback is not supported on your device

Media captionRos Atkins takes a close look at what happened on the India-China border

China has said it is moving 20 martial arts trainers to the Tibetan Plateau to train its forces.

No official reason for the decision has been given, but it comes after at least 20 Indian soldiers were killed in clashes with Chinese border forces.

Under a 1996 agreement, neither party carries weapons or explosives in the area.

China has not released any information on its victims, while India says 76 of its soldiers were wounded.

The news of the new army martial arts trainers was reported by official Chinese media on June 20, according to Hong Kong media.

The state-run CCTV network said 20 Enbo Fight Club fighters would be located in the Tibetan capital Lhasa, although Chinese media had not confirmed they would train troops on the border with India.

China and India, both nuclear powers, have exchanged blame for responsibility for the fighting in the Galwan River valley in Ladakhon on June 15.

The area, with its severe climate and high-altitude terrain, is close to Aksai Chin, a disputed area claimed by India but controlled by China.

The deaths during the fighting were the first deaths in clashes between the two sides in nearly half a century.

However, long-standing tensions between India and China over the Current Line of Control (LAC), the poorly demarcated border between the two nuclear-armed powers, had risen again in the weeks leading up to the incident.