Chinese Army estimated to have suffered 35 casualties during Galwan clash

Image Credit: Third party image reference

The Chinese Army is estimated to have suffered 35 casualties including those seriously injured and killed during the clash with Indian troops at Galwan Valley in Eastern Ladakh on Monday night officials said quoting US intelligence reports. The Commanding Officer of the Chinese battalion involved in the stand ff is among those killed. China has not publicly announced the number of casualties on its side although the Chinese media has admitted to casualties. Chinese troops, on the other hand, killed 20 Indian soldiers, including the Commanding Officer, Colonel B Santosh Babu, of the 16 Bihar unit that is deployed there. Out of the 20, 17 troops who were critically injured during the face-off and exposed to sub-zero temperatures in the high altitude terrain succumbed to their injuries. There are also reportedly several Indian soldiers who are missing. The army on Wednesday released the names of the 20 soldiers and has informed their next of kin.

China on Wednesday claimed that the sovereignty of the Galwan Valley area in Ladakh always belonged to it,a day after the armies of the two countries were engaged in a violent face-off.

The External Affairs Ministry on Tuesday said the violent confrontation between armies of India and China in eastern Ladakh was the result of an attempt by the Chinese side to unilaterally change the status quo in the region.

The ministry said both sides suffered casualties that could have been avoided had the agreement arrived earlier at the higher level been scrupulously followed by the Chinese side.

At a briefing at the Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Zhao Lijian refused to comment on reports of 43 casualties on the Chinese side during the face-off in the Galwan Valley on Monday night.

He said, the border troops are dealing with relevant matter. When pointed out that the India has released the number of casualties and why Beijing was not providing the number for Chinese side. I have stated that Chinese and Indian border troops are now jointly dealing with the relevant matter on the ground. I have nothing to add at the moment. On the situation at the China-India border both sides are having close communication with each other resolving this through diplomatic and military channels. The over all border situation is stable and controllable

Twenty Indian Army personnel, including a Colonel, were killed in the clash with Chinese troops in the Galwan Valley on Monday night, the biggest military confrontation in over five decades that has significantly escalated the already volatile border standoff between the two countries. A large number of Indian and Chinese troops have been engaged in an eyeball to eyeball situation in Galwan Valley and certain other areas of eastern Ladakh for the last five weeks including in Pangong Tso, Galwan Valley, Demchok and Daulat Beg Oldie in eastern Ladakh.

The Chinese Foreign Office on Wednesday said, it did not wish to see more clashes with Indian troops in the Galwan Valley, a day after both sides suffered casualties in a physical face-off.

Zhao Lijian, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said, at the same time, a wide gulf remained between the two sides on the trigger for the clashes at the Line of Actual Control (LAC). The incident happened on the Chinese side of LAC and China is not to blame for it.

Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Anurag Srivastav, in his statement on Tuesday said, that China had reneged on an understanding between army commanders at a meeting on June 6. While it was our expectation that this would unfold smoothly, Chinese intransigence led to the events taking a different turn. In the Chinese media, though the hawkish Global Times kept up a steady stream of articles on the LAC tensions but analysts took a particular note of the People’s Daily terming the clash as the most severe in decades. The official newspaper of the powerful Central Committee of the Communist Party of China said it was a provocative military operation staged by Indian troops to capture Chinese territory and shift domestic pressure.

Srivastav had said, both Foreign Office spokespersons also differed on the location of the clash. India is very clear that all its activities are always within the Indian side of the LAC. We expect the same of the Chinese side.

Meanwhile, the US State Department condoled the loss of lives on the Indian side saying it was closely monitoring the situation between Indian and Chinese forces along the LAC.