India-China Border Tensions Live | Indian Army Says 20 Soldiers Died In The China Border Face-Off

Twenty Indian soldiers were killed in action after the army clashed with Chinese troops in the Galwan valley in Eastern Ladakh, ANI reported citing a statement by the Indian Army.

“17 Indian troops who were critically injured in the line of duty at stand-off 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 Indian and Chinese armies have now disengaged at Galwan area, the statement added. “Indian Army is firmly committed to protect the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the nation,” it said.

The Ministry of External Affairs said that the violent face-off between Indian and Chinese troops as the latter did not respect the Line of Actual Control in the Galwan Valley.

“On the late-evening and night of June 15, 2020 a violent face-off happened as a result of an attempt by the Chinese side to unilaterally change the status quo there,” MEA Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said in a media statement. “Both sides suffered casualties that could have been avoided had the agreement at the higher level been scrupulously followed by the Chinese side.”

The statement said that India and China have been discussing de-escalation of the situation in the border area of Eastern Ladakh. Senior and ground commanders had a series of meetings to implement this consensus.

While India was expecting things to unfold smoothly, the statement said, the Chinese side departed from the consensus.

“Given its responsible approach to border management, India is very clear that all its activities are always within the Indian side of the LAC. We expect the same of the Chinese side,” the statement said.

A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said two Indian soldiers crossed into Chinese territory twice on Monday, but added that he has no relevant information on the face-off that killed the three Indian soldiers.

• Two Indian soldiers crossed into Chinese territory twice on June 15 in a serious violation of the consensus reached earlier
• China has protested the incident to India
• China demands India restrict frontline soldiers and avoid unilateral moves that will complicate the border situation
• No relevant information on the face-off that led to the killing of the three Indian soldiers

Source: Bloomberg

Three soldiers of the Indian Army died in a 'violent face-off' with China at the Ladakh section of the border, the Army said in a statement.

“During the de-escalation process underway in the Galwan Valley, a violent face-off took place yesterday night with casualties,” according to the Indian Army. “The loss of lives on the Indian side includes an officer and two soldiers.”

Senior officials of the Indian Army and China’s People’s Liberation Army are currently holding a meeting to defuse the tension in Galwan Valley, they said.

The incident comes days after Indian Army Chief General MM Naravane said both sides have began disengaging from Galwan Valley, a region that was a key trigger for the 1962 Sino-Indian War.

The nuclear-armed neighbors were engaged in talks to de-escalate the six week-long standoff in the Himalayan region, after skirmishes in Pangong Tso, Galwan Valley, Demchok and Daulat Beg Oldie in eastern Ladakh.

The biggest flashpoint was Pangong Tso -- a glacial lake at 14,000 feet along the border -- in the first week of May. Scores of soldiers on both sides were injured in the scuffles. That was followed by a similar incident in north Sikkim a few days later.

The trigger was China's stiff opposition to India laying a key road in the Finger area around the Pangong Tso Lake besides construction of another road connecting the Darbuk-Shayok-Daulat Beg Oldie road in Galwan Valley.

The road in the Finger area in Pangong Tso is considered crucial for India to carry out patrol. India has already decided not to stall any border infrastructure projects in eastern Ladakh in view of Chinese protests.