Indian troops in Galwan Valley crossed LAC for deliberate provocation; China

At least 20 Indian soldiers were killed and more than 70 injured in a deadly face-off with Chinese soldiers in the Galwan Valley of Ladakh, on June 15th.

Ladakh has become the site of the deadliest clash in half a century between the two nuclear-armed giants.

However, on Saturday China said Indian troops deployed in the Ladakh region violated an agreement between the two countries when they crossed the Line of Actual Control (LAC)  that resulted in more than 20 Indian soldiers being killed earlier this week.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian accused Indian troops of a “deliberate provocation” in the tense Himalayan area.

In a series of tweets, Zhao said the Galwan Valley was on the Chinese side of the line and that Indians had since April unilaterally built roads, bridges, and other facilities in the region.

“The Galwan Valley is located on the Chinese side of the Line of Actual Control in the west section of the China-India boundary. For many years, the Chinese border troops have been patrolling and on duty in this region”, he said.

Here are the tweets  in series by Lijian Zhao revealing the step-by-step account of the Galwan clash: 

Since April, the Indian border troops have unilaterally and continuously built roads, bridges, and other facilities at the LAC in Galwan Valley. China lodged representations and protests on multiple occasions but India went even further to cross the LAC and made provocations.

On May 6, Indian border troops crossed LAC, trespassed into China’s territory, built fortification & barricades, which impeded the patrol of Chinese border troops. They deliberately made provocations in an attempt to unilaterally change the status quo of control & management.

The Chinese border troops were compelled to take necessary measures to respond to the situation on the ground and strengthen management & control in the border areas. To ease the situation, China and India stayed in close communication through military and diplomatic channels.

In response to the strong demand of the Chinese side, India agreed to withdraw the personnel who crossed the LAC and demolish the facilities, and so they did.

On June 6, the border troops held a commander-level meeting & agreed to ease the situation. India promised it would not cross the estuary of Galwan river to patrol & build facilities. The two sides would discuss & decide phased withdrawal of troops by officials on the ground.

Shockingly, on the evening of June 15, India’s front-line troops, in violation of the agreement reached at the commander-level meeting, once again crossed the Line of Actual Control for deliberate provocation when the situation in the Galwan Valley was already easing.

India’s front-line troops even violently attacked the Chinese officers and soldiers who went there for negotiation, thus triggering fierce physical conflicts and causing casualties.

This comes a day after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a statement tried to downplay Monday’s clash  clash with Chinese troops, saying, “Nobody has intruded into our border, neither is anybody there now nor have our posts been captured.”

Modi’s government blamed the Chinese side for seeking to build structures “just across the Line of Actual Control (LAC)”, as the demarcation is known, and refusing India’s request to stop.

India will not allow any unilateral changes to the disputed border, said the statement.