From the news coming in from Galwan valley, the Chinese forces have reportedly released Indian soldiers including two majors on Thursday evening. This comes after the face-off between two forces that resulted in 20 casualties on the Indian side and reportedly 43 on the Chinese side.
A report in the Hindu says that an agreement was reached between Major generals between the two armies and after that the People’s Liberation Army released the soldiers. This is the first time since the 1962 War that Indian soldiers were taken into custody by the Chinese forces.
According to another report by NDTV, the Chinese forces have brought in bulldozers into action on their side of the line of actual control. As per the report, the attempt is to block or disturb the flow of the Galwan river into the Northeastern part of Ladakh which is a kilometer away from where the face-off took place. The report further states that the flow of river perceptibly changes from flowing blue waters into a small muddy stream that soon becomes imperceptible as it crossed the line of actual control.
Unprecedented Escalation
On Monday night, the two military forces clashed at the Galwan valley in which 20 Indian army personnel were killed. Even as the Chinese media has acknowledged casualties on the Chinese side, there haven’t been the exact numbers reported yet. The escalation on Monday is unprecedented as it was the biggest confrontation between the two forces since the 1967 clash in Nathu La when the Indian forces lost 80 soldiers while the Chinese lost 300 of its army personnel.
Meanwhile, the Chinese establishment accused India of crossing the border and attacking the Chinese forces. As per the news agency, Beijing urged India to strictly restrain its frontline troops from crossing the border or taking any unilateral action that may complicate the border situation. Hours after the Chinese spokesperson said that India should not cross the border, the Ministry of External Affairs issued a statement that said that the escalation happened because the PLA made an attempt to unilaterally change the status quo in the Galwan Valley. The spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs said that the casualties on both sides could have been avoided had the agreement at the higher level been scrupulously followed by the Chinese.
Source: Free Press Journal
