On 15th June two of the world’s most powerful militaries engaged in a conflict. The clashes took place in eastern Ladakh'sGalwan Valley. The valley refers to the land between steepmountains and the Galwan River.
It is strategically located between Ladakhin the west and Aksai Chin in the east. Viewers may note that this is the first timethe India and China are involved in a fierce confrontation since the deadly clashes betweenthe two armies that took place in Nathu La in 1967 which resulted in the death of 88soldiers of Indian Army and about 300 soldiers the PLA or People’s Liberation Army of China. In this article, Defense updates analyze brutalLadakh's Galwan Valley clash of 15th June between India & China. Let’s get started. This article is sponsored by War Thunder, themost comprehensive military vehicle online game for PC, PlayStation4 and Xbox One, inwhich you can go to battle on more than 1200 playable aircraft, tanks, helicopters andships from the 1930s to the 1990s.
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Downloadand play War Thunder for free using the link in the description below and also get a freebonus tank or aircraft or ship and three days of premium account. China has been objecting to India’s roadconstruction activities at the western end of the valley, in the area between the Galwan-Shyokconfluence and the LAC. Beijing’s latest remark state that the entirevalley is on its side of the LAC or Line of Actual Control, which pegs the line furtherwest near the Shyok river. India has rejected the claim as “exaggeratedand untenable”. China has tried to change the territorialstatus quo gradually, post by post, island-by-island instead of trying to capture in one go. For example, China first occupied the ParacelIslands in 1974 and then slowly expanded its presence southward by attacking Vietnam’sislands in the Spratly chain in the 1980s. This strategy known as 'Salami Slicing' aimsfor the slow accumulation of small changes. China is trying to use the same tactics againstIndia.
There are conflicting reports regarding theskirmish. As accumulated from various sources, the altercationhad 3 stages. Stage 1. As per the previous discussion at the senior-levelbetween PLA & India Army, light infrastructure erected at Patrolling Point 14 by PLA wassupposed to be dismantled. A few Indian soldiers went to check this butfound this was not done. They asked the 10-12 PLA soldiers manningthe post to do so but the Chinese refused. The Indian soldiers returned from the siteand informed this to the Commanding Officer. Stage 2. Around 50 troops and '16 Bihar' Commanding Officer Colonel Santosh Babu in the lead, went on to tell the Chinese to go back furtherin their territory as they were on Indian soil. But by then, the Chinese had called for reinforcementsfrom their rear positions in the Galwan river valley.
There were around 300-350 soldiers and theywere ready with spike embedded rods and stones. This included soldiers from the Chinese ‘DeathSquad'. As the discussion heated up and the Indianside started uprooting their tents and equipment, at this moment the Chinese pounced. The first attack was on the 16 Bihar CO andHavildar Palani. After the CO went down, the Indian Army soldiersbecame enraged and attacked the PLA ferociously though they were heavily outnumbered, didn’thave rods and had to face stones raining from the higher ground. Several soldiers from both sides died becauseof falling into the river.
Stage 3 Indian Army base got the message for reinforcementsand it sent around 50 Ghatak troops. ‘Ghatak' is a Hindi word and means ‘Lethal'in English. These are shock troops, trained to be tipof the spear and are meant to break through enemy lines. They undergo special training in hand to handcombat and are battle-hardened as they regularly deal with terrorists that come from the Pakistaniside. The Ghatak troops along with the already presenttroops launched the most brutal counter-attack against the PLA. Reports indicated that they snapped the necksof at least 18 Chinese soldiers and smashed their faces with stones beyond recognition.
They unleashed a reign of terror that is unheardof in modern military history and chased the PLA 1 km into the Chinese side of LAC. India troops also removed the Chinese postwhich was existing in violation of the agreements between the two sides. It is important to note that firearms werenot used by any side as per an accord signed earlier. Both India & China have suffered significantcasualties. This is actually the biggest-ever militaryconfrontation between the two armies in over five decades. The Indian Army stated that 20 Army personnel,including Commanding Officer Colonel Santosh Babu, lost their lives. The bodies of Indian soldiers were sent totheir hometown and they were laid to rest with full state honor. On the other hand, China didn’t discloseits numbers. Indian radio intercepts indicate that Chinalost 43 of its men. U.S officials quoting intelligence sourcessaid that the Chinese army suffered 35 casualties and stated that China didn’t disclose itsnumber as it has come as a major embarrassment for the communist regime. China as usual has tried to give it a twistand engaged Global Times for it. On June 17, the Editor-in-Chief of state-controlledGlobal Times, Hu Xijin had tweeted that Beijing does not want the people on either side ofthe border to compare the number of dead bodies that the nations were left with in the aftermathof the clash as a ‘goodwill’ gesture done to ‘avoid stoking public mood.
It is interesting to note that the UnitedStates on 22 June designated four more Chinese propaganda outlets "disguised as news agencies"as foreign missions. US stated that they were the mouthpieces ofthe Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Global Times is one of the four. PLA later confirmed that a Chinese commandingofficer was among those killed on their side.
This emerged during a Lieutenant General-leveltalks held on 22 June between PLA & Indian Army which was aimed to resume discussionson the disengagement process. The USA Today report stated, “The U.S. believesZhao, the Chinese general who commanded the forces involved, held a memorial service forthe PLA soldiers who died in the incident – an occasion that would normally attractsome form of state-sponsored publicity. Instead, Chinese censors have since crackeddown on social media posts about the incident, including ones that mention “defeat” and“humiliation” when describing the dead or injured Chinese troops”. USA intelligence report indicates that thiswas done since China wanted to project a position of “strength” and claim that it had nocasualties in the standoff. Beijing has continued to blame New Delhi forthe face-off in Galwan Valley.
But U.S intelligence has nailed Chinese lies. A source familiar with the assessment sayson the condition of anonymity, Gen. Zhao Zongqi, head of the Western TheaterCommand and among the few combat veterans still serving in the People's Liberation Army,approved the operation along the contested border region of northern India and southwesternChina. The source added,Zhao, who has overseen prior standoffs with India, has previously expressed concerns thatChina must not appear weak to avoid exploitation by the United States and its allies, includingin New Delhi and saw the faceoff last week as a way to "teach India a lesson." This revelation by U.S intelligence also bustedChina’s claims that the deadly skirmish was a spontaneous result of the escalationof tensions at the LAC, just like prior skirmishes.
The intelligence report by the USA statesthat China’s plan to attack India in order to “punish” it for allying with the USAclearly backfired and failed to pressure India. The report states that the attack by Chinaagainst India “does the very opposite of what it wanted”, and “This is not a victoryfor China’s military.” It observes that the attack by China has inspiredwidespread outrage in India and actually, pushed India closer to the USA in its economicpolicies. China has bid its time, laid low but has riseneconomically and militarily.
In the last decade or so it has changed itsstance and has been very aggressive in its posturing. This clash is a result of China belligerentmaneuvering with the intention of land grab. But India is not a pushover. To understand this aspect, we recommend viewersto watch the video on the above card in which Defense Updates lists Top 5 Indian weaponsthat can stop china in its track. It is important to note that both the countriespossess nuclear weapons and an escalation could lead to massive destruction.
PLA has already asked for a dialogue withthe Indian Army and the de-escalation process seems to be underway.
It is evident that this time PLA has bittenoff more than it can chew.
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