China Claims Galwan Valley Located On Its Side Of LAC, Gives Step-By-Step Account Of Ladakh Clash

A violent face-off between Indian troops and personnel of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) in Galwan Valley resulted in 20 Indian soldiers being killed in the line of duty.

(File Photo/ PTI)

New Delhi:  Days after the intense tension between India and China at the Galwan valley, China has again falsely claimed that the area located along Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh sector is a part of mainland China and blamed the Indian troops for violating the border protocol. A day earlier, India trashed China's claims of sovereignty over the Galwan Valley and asked Beijing to confine its activities to its side of the LAC,  the Chinese Foreign Ministry issued a statement which it claims to be a "step-by-step account of the Galwan Valley incident. The statement attributed to the Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian was put out on the Chinese Embassy in India's official website. In the statement, Zhao Lijian reiterated China's unverified claim that the Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh is located on the Chinese side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the west section of the China-India boundary. Lijian further said that Chinese border troops have been patrolling the region for many years until April of this year when Indian border troops built roads, bridges, and other facilities at the LAC in the Galwan Valley. The spokesperson of the Chinese Foreign Ministry goes even further to allege, "By the early morning of May 6, the Indian border troops, who have crossed the LAC by night and trespassed into China's territory, have built fortification and barricades, which impeded the patrol of Chinese border troops They deliberately made provocations in an attempt to unilaterally change the status quo of control and management." Lijian goes further to give the Chinese version of the violent face-off in his statement as he says, "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, and even violently attacked the Chinese officers and soldiers who went there for negotiation, thus triggering fierce physical conflicts and causing casualties." "They deliberately made provocations in an attempt to unilaterally change the status quo of control and management. The Chinese border troops have been forced to take necessary measures to respond to the situation on the ground and strengthen management and control in the border areas," read the statement. In order to ease the situation, China and India have stayed in close communication through military and diplomatic channels, said China Foreign Ministry, Spokesperson. The foreign ministry statement also termed it "shocking for Indian troops to have once again crossed the Line of Actual Control for deliberate provocation when the situation in the Galwan Valley was already easing, and even violently attacked the Chinese officers and soldiers who went there for negotiation, thus triggering fierce physical conflicts and causing casualties on the evening of June 15". "In order to immediately stop all provocative actions so as to ensure that such incidents do not happen again", the Chinese foreign ministry further called for a second commander-level meeting as soon as possible to deal with the situation on the ground. WATCH VIDEO: Post all-party meeting, PM Modi's strong-worded response to China "The two sides agreed to handle in a just manner the serious situation caused by the Galwan Valley clash, observe the agreement reached during the commander-level meeting, cool down the situation on the ground as soon as possible, and uphold peace and tranquility of the border areas in accordance with bilateral agreements reached so far," it read. A violent face-off between Indian troops and personnel of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) in Galwan Valley resulted in 20 Indian soldiers being killed in the line of duty. The broader standoff in eastern Ladakh between the two armies was first reported on May 5 after a fist-fight between troops along the Pangong Tso river.