BEIJING: China has claimed that the Galwan Valley in Ladakh along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) is now under its control.
The news was confirmed by Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian on Saturday morning. In his recent series of tweets, China has claimed on the Galwan Valley.
India, however, had rejected Chinese claims on the Galwan valley. While confirming the news, Zhao Lijian tweeted, “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.”
“Since April, the Indian border troops have unilaterally and continuously built roads, bridges, and other facilities at the LAC in Galway Valley. China lodged representations and protests on multiple occasions but India went even further to cross the LAC and made provocations,” he wrote.
He continued, “On 6th May, Indian border troops crossed LAC, trespassed into China’s territory, 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.”
“The Chinese border troops were compelled to take necessary measures to respond to the situation on the ground and strengthen management and control in the border areas. To ease the situation, China and India stayed in close communication through military and diplomatic channels,” added.
The Chinese spokesperson further added, “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.”
According to him, on 6th June, the border troops held a commander-level meeting and 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,” he tweeted.
“Shockingly, on the evening of 15th June, India’s front-line troops, in violation of the agreement reached 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,” he stated.
In the last tweet, he wrote, “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 is the step-by-step account of the Galwan clash.”
India, however, rejected Chinese claims on the Galwan valley. Earlier this week, Indian spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said the Chinese side had departed from the consensus to respect the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Galwan Valley.
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