India-China border clash: Will it escalate?
India TodayTwenty Indian soldiers including the commanding officer of an Indian battalion were killed in the bloodiest clash with the Chinese PLA in 45 years. The Indian soldiers were involved in a violent clash with PLA troopers while on a patrol of Post 14 to check whether the Chinese had moved back from the Line of Actual Control. Three months later, on October 20, the Galwan Valley post was overrun by the advancing Chinese leading to the deaths of 33 Indian soldiers. A statement from the MEA spokesperson late in the evening of June 16 unambiguously blamed the Chinese for the incident: “The Chinese side departed from the consensus to respect the Line of Actual Control in the Galwan Valley.” The Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson, Lijian Zhao, expectedly blamed the Indian side for “twice crossing the border line for illegal activities and provoked and attacked Chinese personnel which led to serious physical conflict between the two sides”. “The next time, even Indian troops might carry batons and sticks and will not be surprised by the Chinese side,” says Major General Vinaya Chandran.