At least 20 Indian soldiers were killed in the clash with Chinese troops in the Galwan Valley in Ladakh. (Representative image)
China had been trying to escalate matters in the Royal Line of Control since just after the Doklam crisis of 2017, sending huge patrols of 50 to 100 soldiers.
- CNN-News18
- Last update: September 25, 2020 7:41 AM M. IST
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Five Chinese soldiers were killed in the June 15 clash in the Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh, China’s military confirmed during military and diplomatic talks with India in Moldo earlier this week, government sources said.
This is the first time that China has given a casualty figure for its troops in the confrontation. Earlier, government sources had said that Beijing had admitted that a Chinese commanding officer was among those killed in hand-to-hand combat near the Galwan River, 15,000 feet high in the Himalayas. Twenty Indian soldiers were killed in action during the confrontation.
A top government source in the South Block told CNN-News18 that, aware of the talks, it said the actual death toll in China would be much higher. “When the Chinese say five, multiply it by three,” said the source.
India and China have been embroiled in a clash in eastern Ladakh since early May. The government official said that while the standoff may have officially started in May this year, China had been trying to escalate matters in the Royal Line of Control since just after the 2017 Doklam crisis.
The official said the PLA had started sending patrols of 50 to 100 men, instead of the 15 to 20 soldiers that used to be the norm.
“After 2017, the Chinese ignored the mutually agreed protocol of having no more than 20 men on a patrol. Sure enough, these larger Chinese patrols began to physically intimidate our patrols. Many ended in fights, “said the source, on condition of anonymity.
India had raised the matter with the Chinese several times, but fell on deaf ears. The Indian military establishment believes that China had been planning its land grabbing exercise in eastern Ladakh for at least the last year, if not before, and Covid-19 gave them the perfect opportunity.
In April, when the Chinese mobilization began, the Indian military was busy trying to ensure that Covid-19 did not spread through its ranks. As a result, the annual Army exercise in Ladakh was canceled, which would have meant a large mobilization of troops and tanks in the region.
This gave the PLA a virtual step. “We thought they had come and like every year they will return. How were we to know that they had no intention of returning? The officer asked.
When asked why the Chinese transgressed in Indian territory without any provocation, the main source said: “We ask ourselves that question every day.”
The seventh round of the Corps Commander talks is scheduled for next week and will be attended by a diplomat. Sources say having MEA deputy secretary Navin Srivastava at the previous meeting in Moldo helped block the confusion China creates. The sixth round of talks lasted 14 hours.
Sources say that China at the WMCC meeting would say let the ground-level army commanders solve the problem, and on the ground level, the commanders used to say we don’t have the mandate, ensuring that the confrontation continues. for longer.
It is at the insistence of India that a joint statement was issued after the sixth meeting at the corps commanders level on September 21, so that everything is recorded and China cannot break its word.
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