In heartbreaking news, As many as 20 Indian soldiers were reportedly martyred in the “violent face-off” with Chinese troops in the Galwan Valley on Monday night.
Earlier a statement was made by the army that one Indian Army officer and two jawans were killed in action. However, by late Tuesday evening, the Indian Army updated the figure to 20, saying that 17 others who sustained injuries during the clash had succumbed to death. The number may rise further, the army said.
As per news agency ANI, 43 soldiers of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) were also killed in an escalated scuffle with Indian soldiers. The violence clash between the Indian Army and China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is the biggest confrontation since their 1967 clashes in Nathu La in which India defeated China killing their over 300 Chinese army personnel in the confrontation.
In an official statement, the Indian Army said, “17 Indian troops who were critically injured in the line of duty at the standoff location and exposed to sub-zero temperatures in the high altitude terrain have succumbed to their injuries, taking the total that were killed in action to 20.”
The army, in its statement, said, Indian and Chinese troops have disengaged at the Galwan area where they had earlier clashed on Monday night. “Indian Army is firmly committed to protecting the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the nation,” the Indian Army statement said.
Surprisingly, this is the first deadly confrontation between the two Asian giants since 1975. However, China has not disclosed its casualties. China has reportedly suffered a huge loss during the violent clash in eastern Ladakh’s Galwan Valley.
Hu Xijin, editor-in-chief of Global Times, confirmed casualties from the Chinese side. “Based on what I know, Chinese side also suffered casualties in the Galwan Valley physical clash,” Hu Xijin tweeted on Tuesday afternoon. He went on to ask India not to misread China’s restraint to be a sign of weakness. “China doesn’t want to have a clash with India, but we don’t fear it,” the editor tweeted.
“In New Delhi, defence minister Rajnath Singh briefed Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the developments along the LAC and also held two meetings with chief of defence staff General Bipin Rawat and the three service chiefs to assess the ground situation and review options,” defence ministry officials said. External affairs minister S Jaishankar was also present in one of the meetings.
