BEIJING/NEW DELHI, Feb 19: Four Chinese soldiers were killed in the fierce clash with the Indian Army in the Galwan valley in Eastern Ladakh in June last year, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) acknowledged for the first time today.
China’s military authorities have honoured two officers and three soldiers, including four who received the awards posthumously, for defending the country’s western border, the official Xinhua news agency reported, quoting the The People’s Liberation Army Daily, the newspaper of the Chinese military.
Five Chinese frontier officers and soldiers stationed in the Karakoram Mountains have been recognised by the Central Military Commission of China (CMC) for their sacrifice in the border confrontation with India, which occurred in the Galwan Valley in June 2020, the PLA Daily said.
The CMC is headed by Chinese President Xi Jinping, also General Secretary of the ruling Communist Party of China.
The title of “border-defending hero” was conferred on Battalion Commander Chen Hongjun posthumously, while Chen Xiangrong, Xiao Siyuan and Wang Zhuoran received first-class merit. Qi Fabao, who was seriously injured in the skirmish, received the title of “hero regiment commander for defending the border,” the Xinhua report said.
Three PLA soldiers were killed in the combat while another soldier died while crossing the icy river when he went to support his army mates.
Asked why China chose to reveal the casualties suffered during the Galwan incident after over eight months, Hua 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 martyred in the fierce hand-to-hand combat on June 15 in Galwan valley, an incident that marked the most serious military conflicts between the two sides in over four decades. While China acknowledged casualties, it did not disclose details.
Meanwhile, after completing the withdrawal of troops and weapons from the north and south banks of Pangong lake, India and China will hold a fresh round of high-level military talks tomorrow to take forward the disengagement process in Hot Springs, Gogra and Depsang in Eastern Ladakh, official sources said in New Delhi today.
The 10th round of Corps Commander-level talks are scheduled to start at 10 am at the Moldo border point on the Chinese side of the Line of Actual Control, and will be the first engagement between the two sides at a senior level after conclusion of the disengagement process in Pangong lake areas, they said.
Sources said pulling back of troops, weapons and other military hardware as well as dismantling of bunkers, tents and temporary structures in north and south banks of Pangong lake were completed on Thursday and both sides have carried out a verification of the same.
“Both sides will also carry out a comprehensive review of the disengagement process in Pangong lake areas,” said a source.
The Indian delegation at Saturday’s talks will be led by Lt Gen PGK Menon, the Commander of the Leh-based 14 Corps while the Chinese side is expected to be headed by Maj Gen Liu Lin, the commander of the South Xinjiang military district of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA). (PTI)
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