A Colonel-rank officer and two soldiers of the Indian Army were killed in a violent face-off with Chinese troops in the Galwan Valley area of Ladakh on Monday night. The officer killed was commanding an infantry battalion. The face-off took place during efforts to de-escalate the prevailing tensions along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh.
In an official statement, the Army said, "During the de-escalation process underway in the Galwan Valley, a violent face-off took place yesterday (Monday) night with casualties. The loss of lives on the Indian side includes an officer and two soldiers."
The statement added that senior military officials of the two sides are currently meeting at the venue to defuse the situation.
Details of what exactly led to the violent face-off are not clear at the moment.
This major development comes at a time when Indian and Chinese troops are involved in a massive standoff in eastern Ladakh for the past one-and-a-half-month.
Significant numbers of Chinese troops have been camping in the Indian side of the LAC in Galwan Valley and Pangong Tso.
Indian and Chinese troops were engaged in a bitter standoff in several areas along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in mountainous eastern Ladakh for close to a month. Both the countries are holding talks at military and diplomatic levels to resolve the dispute.
After publishing comprehensive eye-opening maps of confrontation site in Galwan Valley & Panggong Tso fingers area, @IndiaToday Open Source Investigation Team (OSINT) is now working on detailing military build up in Hot Springs area near Gogra post. Watch this space for details.. pic.twitter.com/lfy1jqlqDW
— Rahul Kanwal (@rahulkanwal) June 16, 2020
The trigger for the face-off 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.
China was also laying a road in the Finger area which is not acceptable to India.
Government sources said military reinforcements including troops, vehicles and artillery guns were sent to eastern Ladakh by the Indian Army to shore up its presence in the areas where Chinese soldiers were resorting to aggressive posturing.
The situation in eastern Ladakh deteriorated after around 250 Chinese and Indian soldiers were engaged in a violent face-off on the evening of May 5 which spilt over to the next day before the two sides agreed to "disengage".
However, the standoff continued.
The incident in Pangong Tso was followed by a similar incident in North Sikkim on May 9.
The India-China border dispute covers the 3,488-km-long LAC. China claims Arunachal Pradesh as part of southern Tibet while India contests it.
Both sides have been asserting that pending the final resolution of the boundary issue, it is necessary to maintain peace and tranquillity in the border areas.
Sources : Indiatoday.in
0 Comments
I hmuh dan leh i ngaihdan han thawh ve la