Five soldiers of China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) were killed and 11 others injured in Ladakh’s Galwan Valley clash with Indian Army, the Chinese media reported on Tuesday.
Taking to micro-blogging site Twitter, Global Times reporter, Wang Wenwen, said that no bullets were fired and it was hand-to-hand combat. Wenwen cited reports saying that the incident took place at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) on the China-India border on June 15.
In eastern Ladakh, a Colonel-rank Army officer and two soldiers were killed during a violent clash with Chinese troops at one of the standoff points in the Galwan Valley. The officer killed was commanding an infantry battalion. The incident took place on June 15 night. The ‘shocking’ bloodshed incident at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) is a first to take place in the last 45 years.
Confirming the report, an Army official said that the incident came during the de-escalation process underway in the Galwan Valley and that senior military officials of both sides are currently meeting to defuse the situation.
According to sources, 3-4 casualties have been reported on the Chinese side too.
While calling India to not take unilateral action on the killing of its troops in the border standoff, China accused Indian soldiers of crossing border and attacking Chinese personnel, that caused the latest standoff.
Details of what exactly led to the violent face-off are not clear at the moment although reports state that no firearms were used and deaths took place after stones were pelted by troops from both sides.
A large number of Indian and Chinese troops were engaged in an eyeball-to-eyeball situation in Galwan Valley and certain other areas of eastern Ladakh for the last five weeks, said PTI. The Indian and Chinese armies are engaged in a standoff in Pangong Tso, Galwan Valley, Demchok and Daulat Beg Oldie in eastern Ladakh.
A sizeable number of Chinese Army personnel even transgressed into the Indian side of the de-facto border in several areas including Pangong Tso.
The Indian Army has been fiercely objecting to the transgressions and demanded their immediate withdrawal for the restoration of peace and tranquillity in the area. Both sides held a series of talks in the last few days to resolve the row.