Chinese side makes fresh claim on Galwan Valley

A day after India rubbished China’s right of sovereignty over Galwan Valley, at the heart of a tense border standoff between the two sides, Beijing on Friday declared the region on the Chinese side of the Line of Actual Control. Its troops had patrolled it for “many years”.

The claim was made in what was described as a “step by step account of the Galwan clash” by Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian that was posted on the Chinese embassy’s website quickly before midnight on Friday.

China’s People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) western command had in a declaration issued on Tuesday initially raised the issue, saying: “The government of the Galwan River Valley has always been ours.”

On Thursday, external affairs ministry spokesperson Anurag Srivastava had removed the PLA’s claim as “false and unreasonable”.

On Monday night, Indian and Chinese troops were involved in a seven-hour intense face-off in Galwan Valley that left 20 Indian soldiers dead and at least 76 injured. Another 10 Indian soldiers held by the Chinese side were released on Thursday.

The so-called “step by step account” by Zhao said: “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.”

It further claimed that since April, Indian troops had “unilaterally and continuously built roads, bridges and other facilities at the LAC in the Galwan Valley”. China made representations and protests on multiple occasions but “India has gone even further to cross the LAC and make provocations”, Zhao said.

Zhao contended Indian troops crossed the LAC by night and trespassed into China’s territory on May 6 and then “built fortification and barricades, which impeded the patrol of Chinese border troops”.

They deliberately made provocations in an attempt to change the status quo of control and management unilaterally. The Chinese border troops have been forced to take necessary measures to respond to the situation on the ground and strengthen governance and power in the border areas.

Referring to a meeting of senior Indian and Chinese military commanders held on June 6, Zhao said the two sides “reached consensus on easing the situation”. He claimed the Indian team “promised that they would not cross the estuary of the Galwan river to patrol and build facilities” and the two sides would discuss and decide the phased withdrawal of troops”.

Zhao claimed that on June 15, Indian troops violated the agreement reached on June 6 and “once again crossed the Line of Actual Control for deliberate provocation…and even violently attacked the Chinese officers and soldiers who went there for negotiation, thus triggering fierce physical conflicts and causing casualties”.

He reiterated various accusations levelled by the Chinese side in recent days about the violation of agreements. There was no immediate reaction from Indian officials to Zhao’s account.

A readout issued by the external affairs ministry after a phone conversation between foreign affairs minister S Jaishankar and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on June 17 had accused Chinese troops of provoking the clash on June 15 by entering the Indian side of the LAC.

The readout had said the Chinese side “sought to erect a structure in Galwan valley on our side of the LAC”. It had added: “While this became a source of dispute, the Chinese side took pre-meditated and planned action that was directly responsible for the resulting violence and casualties. It reflected an intent to change the facts on the ground in violation of all our agreements not to change the status quo.”