BEIJING (AP) – China’s army said on Friday that four of its soldiers were killed in a high-mountain border clash with Indian forces last year, the first time Beijing has publicly conceded its side was killed in the deadliest incident among the Asian giants in nearly 45 years.
The announcement, which comes more than six months after the bloody hand-to-hand fighting, is intended to help global audiences ‘understand the truth and the right and wrong of the incident’, said Hua Chunying, a spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of Defense. foreign affairs, said.
Yet it seems that the delay also reflects the deep-seated culture of military secrecy in China, as well as concerns about the possible domestic and international precipitation due to the bloodshed.
Immediately after the collision in June 2020 on top of a high ridge in the Ladakh region’s Galvan Valley, India announced that it had lost 20 of its soldiers in a battle in which fists, clubs, stones and other improvised weapons are seen to avoid a firefight.
It is believed that China also had victims, but did not provide details and said that the tension did not want to ignite further.
The announcement that it did lose soldiers came when the two parties concluded a phased backlash from one of their original positions after several rounds of negotiations.
Indian and Chinese troops have completed the decoupling of the southern and northern shores of Pangong Lake, an Indian army officer said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to reporters. The withdrawal started on February 10th.
Command-level talks are scheduled for Saturday to withdraw from other areas, the official said.
The Chinese announcement comes in the army newspaper, the People’s Liberation Army Daily, which says that the four murdered were named state martyrs.
The title of ‘Border Defense Hero’ was awarded to Battalion Commander Chen Hongjun, while Chen Xiangrong, Xiao Siyuan and Wang Zhuoran received first-class merit awards. It attributed their deaths to a ‘clash with foreign military personnel’, without mentioning India directly.
Qi Fabao, a regimental commander wounded in the collision, was given the title “hero regimental commander for the defense of the border”.
A short video of the two military militants clashing last June was shown on Friday night by Chinese state broadcaster CCTV’s dedicated military channel, including a daytime confrontation in a river with sticks and shields and another at night. Qi was shown among the soldiers shouting and gesturing, with a voice saying he insisted that matters be handled according to agreed procedures. Chinese troops wore helmets and body weapons of the kind used by riot police, and it was later revealed that at least one Chinese soldier was being treated in the field for a bloody head wound.
Coupled with dramatic orchestral music and smooth production values, photos of the four dead soldiers above were shown against a backdrop of snow-capped peaks. At the end of the segment it was again shown that troops were patrolling and practicing on foot and in tanks, although the exact times and places were not clear.
Unconfirmed reports in Indian media put the number of Chinese deaths as high as 45 in the first days after the clash. Recently, an Indian security official said on Friday that the army estimates that at least 14 Chinese soldiers were wounded, eight of whom later died. .
The assessment was based on the number of carrier sheets used to remove injured people. Another security official presented a similar report, saying at least 12 Chinese soldiers were seriously injured in the incident.
Both spoke on condition of anonymity in accordance with government regulations.
Hua, the Chinese spokesman, said ‘the Indian side has repeatedly exaggerated and oppressed the victims, distorted the truth and misled international opinion. Now the PLA Daily has published a report on the incident to reveal the truth. ‘
The tense uprising in the Karakoram Mountains began in early May, when Indian and Chinese soldiers ignored each other’s repeated verbal warnings, causing a shouting match, stone-throwing and fistfights on the northern shores of Pangong Lake.
By June, frictions had spread northward to Depsang and the Galwan Valley, where India had built a military road for all weather conditions along the disputed border. Both countries stationed tens of thousands of soldiers, supported by artillery, tanks and fighter jets along the de facto border, called the Line of Actual Control, or LAC, with troops stationed for the harsh winter.
Troops withdrew from the Galwan Valley shortly after the June clashes and have now done so from Lake Pangong. They still live in Depsang and at least two other places, Gogra and Hot Springs.
Lt. Gen. YK Joshi, who commands the Northern Command of the Indian Army, told the Indian station News18 that China appears reluctant to make concessions until Indian forces occupy commanding heights. on August 29-30.
‘This decoupling is taking place because we have taken the dominant position on the Kailash series. If the goal is reached now, we will return to the status quo before April 2020, ‘Joshi told the station.
Each accused the other of inciting violence, which dramatically changed the India-China relationship.
Responsibility “does not lie with China,” Hua said, adding that China “has exercised great self-control, reflecting China’s tolerance and commitment as a responsible power.”
The two sides waged a border war in 1962 that erupted in Ladakh and ended in a turbulent ceasefire. Since then, troops have guarded the undefined border while occasionally fighting. The two countries agreed not to attack each other with firearms.
The fiercely contested line of real control stretches from Ladakh in the west to India’s eastern state of Arunachal Pradesh, which China claims as a whole. It is broken into parts where the Himalayan nations of Nepal and Bhutan sit between India and China.
According to India, the de facto border is 3,488 kilometers (2167 miles) long, while China says it is significantly shorter. As its name suggests, the LAC divides the areas of physical control rather than territorial claims.
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Hussain reports from Srinagar, India. Associated Press author Ashok Sharma in New Delhi contributed to this report.