Releasing of an edited video by the Chinese after over eight months of bloody-incidents at Galwan and attributing the faults with the Indian side, smelt of some calculated move and dishonesty on the part of China when both the countries have agreed to disengage in eastern Ladakh. Strangely, this release came coinciding with the disengagement process being undertaken.
The PLA has acknowledged for the first time on Friday that their four officers were killed in the biggest military confrontation between the two neighbours in over five decades.
Dozens of Indian and Chinese soldiers are seen in eastern Ladakh's Galwan Valley in a new video of last year's border faceoff tweeted by Chinese state media. The video showing the confrontation between Indian and Chinese soldiers in June last year comes after China officially acknowledged it also suffered casualties in the violent faceoff, and named four officers and soldiers who died in the border clash. India believes over 30 Chinese soldiers were killed in Galwan.
A tweet by Chinese state media analyst Shen Shiwei alleges Indian troops trespassed into Chinese side. The Chinese state media video – clearly another attempt at propaganda – shows a large group of soldiers from both sides crossing a river in biting cold and meeting on the rocky banks, where some of them are seen pushing each other to go back. As night falls, soldiers from both sides are seen with flashlights, batons and shields standing on the edge of a cliff. There is much shouting in the dark.
Five Chinese frontier officers and soldiers stationed in the Karakoram Mountains have been recognised by the Central Military Commission of China (CMC) for their sacrifice in the border confrontation with India, which occurred in the Galwan Valley in June 2020, the PLA Daily said.
Asked why China chose to reveal the casualties suffered during the Galwan incident after over eight months, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said, “the report has been revealed to give the truth to the public because the truth is long awaited and is necessary for the people to know the true story.”
India has said that 20 of its soldiers were killed in the fierce hand-to-hand combat on June 15 in Galwan Valley, an incident that marked the most serious military conflicts between the two sides in over four decades.
While China acknowledged casualties, it did not disclose details.
Senior Colonel Ren Guoqiang, Spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of National Defence said that China's position on resolving the China-India border issue is clear, consistent and sincere.
“China is always committed to resolving disputes through dialogue and negotiation, maintaining the general situation of the relations between the two sides, promoting the cooling and easing of the situation, and restoring the peace and tranquillity in the China-Indian border areas as soon as possible,” Ren said in a statement.
Thus India should be extra vigilant and should not take China on its face value as its conduct throughout the intrusion episode remains dubious.
