What went down? India-China line of actual control clash

GEOGRAPHY OF GALWAN VALLEY: 

The Galwan valley obtains its name from the Galwan river, named after Ghulam Rasool Galwan, a Ladakhi explorer hailing from Leh, who first explored it in 1899.

The river stands west of China’s 1956 claim line and Aksai Chin on the Indian border side.

In 1960, china managed to capture it completely and advanced its claim line over it. This claim line of 1960 is the De facto Line of Actual Control

The Galwan valley falls within the Subsector North (SSN), lying to the east of Siachen glacier and acts as the only point of direct access to Aksai Chin from India

FROM THE HISTORICAL ARCHIVES: 

1962 Sino-Indian War was the first which broke out over the disputed territory of the Himalayan border in Ladakh and the Mcmohan line. India lost 1383 jawans, 1047 were wounded and 1696 went missing.

Nathu la and Cho-La clashes of 1967 which happened between the Sikkim borders when on August 13, the Chinese troops started to dig trenches in Nathu La across the Indian border ending up with Indian troops. As per the Defence ministry, 88 personnel from the Indian Army were killed whereas China lost 340.

The 1975 firing in Tulung La of Arunachal Pradesh, 8 years after the Nathu la and Cho la clash when Chinese troops ambuscaded a patrol of Assam Rifles jawans lead to 4 casualties. However, China denied the Indian claims of crossing the LAC

However, the 1967 clashes are remembered as the last major war but do not follow up to be the last incident where shots were fired at the contested boundary.

THE GALWAN VALLEY BUILD UP

It began on May 5 when there was an exchange of stones between the troops at the northern bank of Pangong lake leading to injury of 250 men from both sides.

May 9:  Another face-off at the North Sikkim’s Naku-La leading to injury of 4 Indian and 7 Chinese soldiers.

 May 10: the Indian Army issued statements confirming the Nathu La face-off and Pangong Tso clash.

May 19-25: China’s Foreign Ministry accused the Indian troops of trespassing and obstructing the Chinese patrol. Nearly 5000 Chinese soldiers are marshalled to the disputed border

June 2: Official acknowledgement of troops building up at the border by Rajnath Singh stating that India is matching the military moves of China

June 10-12: Discussions amongst the major general ranked officers over de-escalation plans and easing border tensions

June 15: Savage combat by the People’s Liberation Army using batons covered with barbed wires taking the lives of at least 23 soldiers of the 16 Bihar Regiment including Col Babu, Havildar K Palani and sepoy Kundan Kumar Ohja. Deaths include those who jumped off in the river and others protracted to sub-zero temperatures.

OFFICIAL STATEMENT BY MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS

As per the Official MEA Spokesperson's response to media queries on the situation in the western sector of the India-China border, Mr Anurag Srivastava on June 16 said-

"India and China have been discussing through military and diplomatic channels the de-escalation of the situation in the border area in Eastern Ladakh. Senior Commanders had a productive meeting on 6th June 2020 and agreed on a process for such de-escalation.

While it was expected that this would unfold smoothly, the Chinese side departed from the consensus to respect the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Galwan Valley

On the late evening and night of 15th June 2020, a violent face-off happened as a result of an attempt by the Chinese side to unilaterally change the status quo there. Both sides suffered casualties that could have been avoided had the agreement at the higher level been scrupulously followed by the Chinese side.

We remain firmly convinced of the need for the maintenance of peace and tranquillity in the border areas and the resolution of differences through dialogue. At the same time, we are also strongly committed to ensuring India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity."