China has suffered far fewer casualties than the Indian side in the June Galwan clash, said editor of Chinese government mouthpiece, Global Times, while rejecting the remarks of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.In doing so, the Chinese side has acknowledged that troops on their side suffered casualties in the violent clash in June in which 20 Indian soldiers were martyred and many others injured.
India has maintained that the Chinese side suffered heavy losses and more casualties compared to India.Tagging an Indian news report on Rajnath Singhs statement, Global Times editor-in-chief Hu Xijin said in a tweet, As far as I know, the death toll of Chinese troops in Galwan Valley clash on June 15 is far fewer than 20 deaths of Indian troops.
No Chinese soldiers was captured by Indian troops, but PLA captured many Indian soldiers that day.The Global Times is published by the People's Daily, the official newspaper of China's ruling Communist Party.The tweet was accompanied by a screenshot, stamped 'fake news', of an Indian media report about defence minister Rajnath Singh saying India inflicted heavy casualties on Chinese forces during the fighting.The June clash in the Ladakh region was the worst violence between India and China in over 40 years.
China has not yet released casualty figures for its troops.Referring to the Galwan Valley clashes on June 15, Rajnath Singh had said in Parliament that Indian soldiers "inflicted costs including casualties on the Chinese side".
Singh also said the country should have "full confidence" that the armed forces will always rise to the challenge and make the country proud.Tensions have been on between India and China in Ladakh since April-May but these escalated manifold following the Galwan Valley clashes on June 15 in which 20 Indian Army soldiers were killed.
The Chinese side too suffered casualties, but it is yet to give out the details.The situation deteriorated again after China unsuccessfully attempted to occupy Indian territory in the southern bank of Pangong lake on the intervening night of August 29 and 30.Several rounds of diplomatic and military level talks have failed to bring a resolution to the dispute.
Recently, Foreign Minister S Jaishankar met his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, in Russia where the two reached a consensus on the dispute and agreed on a 5-point roadmap for disengagement.However, another skirmish was reported soon after this meeting and Indian and Chinese troops fired warning shots in the air on September 8.