Galwan Valley clash: In a first, China acknowledges four soldiers killed in stand-off
FirstpostChina gave first-class merit citations to four soldiers who lost their lives during the clash with India while a colonel who was seriously injured was conferred with an honorary title Beijing: Four Chinese soldiers were killed during a fierce hand-to-hand battle with the Indian Army in the Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh in June last year, the PLA acknowledged for the first time on Friday, eight months after the biggest military confrontation between the two neighbours in over five decades. 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 15 June in Galwan Valley, an incident that marked the most serious military conflicts between the two sides in over four decades. This is the first time China has acknowledged casualties and details of these officers and soldiers’ sacrifice, four of whom died when dealing with the Indian military’s “illegal trespassing” of the Galwan Valley. The Global Times said the PLA Daily while acknowledging the Galwan Valley casualties stated that the four soldiers were killed fighting the “foreign military” without referring to the Indian Army.