China admits death of their soldiers in Galwan valley clashes, for the first time

China has admitted for the first time, about the death of its soldiers in the deadly Galwan valley clash with the Indian army in which 20 Indian soldiers were martyred, while China did not disclose casualties on its side then. This comes after the Russian News agency TASS released a report that claimed that atleast 45 Chinese soldiers died in the Galwan Valley clashes with Indian Army.

Chinese state media reported today that the Central Military Commission of China has disclosed the names of five Chinese frontier officers and soldiers stationed in the Karakoram Mountains who were involved in the border confrontation with India, which occurred in the Galwan Valley in June 2020.

As both the countries are carrying forward disengagement of the front line troops after 7 months-long standoff, China has recognized five of its officers and soldiers including one regimental commander from the PLA Xinjiang Military Command and four other soldiers.

It was a contrasting scene when India honoured its martyrs but China maintained silence on the number of casualties. The officers and soldiers recognized are Qi Fabao, the regimental commander from the PLA Xinjiang Military Command, Chen Hongjun, Chen Xiangrong, Xiao Siyuan & Wang Zhuoran. There have been reports of more casualties on the Chinese side but China never acknowledged them except now when it has mentioned five names, four of whom have died.

In May 2020, the PLA troops moved forward from their usual positions onto the Indian side of the LAC, leading to a standoff lasting for months. On February 10, China announced the “start of synchronized and organized disengagement” by the frontline troops of both sides at the southern and northern bank of Pangong Lake. Yesterday China said that the disengagement between Indian and Chinese troops from Pangong Tso in eastern Ladakh was proceeding smoothly and expressed confidence that the two countries will achieve the goal. After this first phase of disengagement is complete, senior military commanders will meet and talk about disengagement at other places.

Courtesy & Credits for News and Photograph: NEWSonAIR.com