China’s Timeline on Deadly Border Clashes Differs From India’s Account
The clashes also resulted in casualties, Wu said, without giving details of how many soldiers were killed or injured.
(Bloomberg) -- China’s defense ministry urged India to work with Beijing to ease tensions along their disputed border, while recounting its version of the events that lead to the deadly clashes between troops high in the Himalayas last week.
Indian soldiers crossed the border on May 6 to construct barriers that blocked Chinese troops, which led to an escalation of tensions, said China’s Ministry of National Defense spokesman Senior Colonel Wu Qian during a monthly press briefing.
Wu reiterated Beijing’s claim of sovereignty over the Galwan valley in the Ladakh area on the India-China border, where 20 Indian soldiers lost their lives in the deadly skirmish on June 15.
The clashes also resulted in casualties, Wu said, without giving details of how many soldiers were killed or injured.
China’s comments on the timeline differs from India’s version of events, which it said involved transgressions by Chinese troops on the night of May 5.
India’s Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar told his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on June 17 the Chinese army tried to erect a post in the Galwan Valley on the Indian side of the Line of Actual Control -- a 3,488 kilometer (2,167 mile) un-demarcated border. In a statement after the call, New Delhi accused China of an “intent to change the facts on ground in violation of all our agreements to not change the status quo.”
“China and India are important neighbors to each other, and maintaining peace and tranquility in the border area is in the common interests of both parties and requires the joint efforts of both parties,” Wu said.
The Indian and Chinese armies continue to remain locked in their worst border conflict in more than four decades amid military talks to withdraw troop and de-escalate tensions.
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With assistance from Bloomberg