India-China Faceoff: First Fatalities Since 1975, What We Know About Galwan Valley Incident

Two nuclear-armed Asian powerhouses are quite literally at an uncharted territory after the two sides came into blows on Monday in Ladakh, where there was a stand-off for weeks now.

An Indian colonel and two soldiers were killed in a "violent face-off" on Monday night with Chinese troops at the Galwan Valley in Ladakh.

AFP

Violent face-off amid de-escalation talks

While confirming the developments, the Indian Army said that during the de-escalation process in the Galwan Valley, a violent face-off took place last night with casualties. The loss of lives on the Indian side includes an officer and 2 soldiers.

While the Chinese side also has suffered casualties it is still unclear about the numbers.

As per reports, the two sides did not use any firearms and the deaths are from thrown stones.

"Indian troops on Monday seriously violated consensus of the two sides by illegally crossing the border twice and carrying out provocative attacks on Chinese soldiers, resulting in serious physical clashes," China's Global Times quoted Foreign Minister Wang Yi as saying.

This comes days after Indian Army Chief Gen MM Naravane said both sides have begun disengaging from Galwan Valley. The two armies have since withdrawn some forces in a positive signal but soldiers, tanks and other armoured carriers remained heavily deployed in the high-altitude region.

REUTERS

India-China flashpoint

The trigger for the face-off was China's stiff opposition to India laying a key road in the Finger area around the Pangong Tso Lake besides construction of another road connecting the Darbuk-Shayok-Daulat Beg Oldie road in Galwan Valley.

The standoff began last month after around 250 Chinese and Indian soldiers were engaged in a violent face-off on May 5 and 6. The incident in Pangong Tso was followed by a similar incident in North Sikkim on May 9.

The Indian Army on Tuesday confirmed that Major Generals of India and China are talking to defuse the situation in the Galwan Valley, after the violent face-off the previous night.

AP

Defence minister Rajnath Singh reviewed the current operational situation in Eastern Ladakh after the incident yesterday, along with the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) and the three service Chiefs. External affairs minister S Jaishankar was also present during the meeting.

This is the first casualties for India in a clash with the PLA since 1975 when an Indian patrol was ambushed by Chinese troops in Arunachal Pradesh.

The India-China border dispute covers the 3,488-km-long LAC. China claims Arunachal Pradesh as part of southern Tibet, while India contests it.