At Least 20 Indian Soldiers Killed in Border Clashes with China (Update)
“First deadly confrontation between the two Asian giants since 1975.”
The ongoing India-China border dispute turned deadly on Tuesday after 20 Indian soldiers, including a senior army officer, were killed by Chinese troops in the Himalayan region, the Indian army confirmed.
Indian “Army has lost one officer and 19 soldiers in a violent face off, newspaper Indian Express reported on Tuesday.
“17 Indian troops who were critically injured in the line of duty at the standoff location and exposed to sub-zero temperatures in the high altitude terrain have succumbed to their injuries,” Indian Army said in a statement. This brings the total number of Indian casualties to 20.
There were reports of casualties on the Chinese side, but Beijing hasn’t released any details so far.
“Based on what I know, Chinese side also suffered casualties,” tweeted the editor-in-chief of Chinese newspaper Global Times, a Communist Party mouthpiece. The deaths were the result of hand-to-hand combat.
It was unclear if shots were fired during the incident, media reports said.
The tensions between the two nuclear-armed powers escalated last month after Chinese troops crossed into the Indian border in the northern Himalayan region of Ladakh. China occupied around sixty square kilometers of Indian territory during the incursion, Indian officials say. Recent satellite imagery showed massive build-up by China’s People Liberation Army (PLA) along the border.
Indian newspaper The Hindustan Times reported the details of the deadly clash on Tuesday:
The Indian army suffered multiple casualties, including that of an officer, in a “violent face off” with China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) on Monday night in eastern Ladakh, the army said in a statement. It added that there were casualties on both sides.
These are the first Indian casualties in a clash with the PLA since 1975 when an Indian patrol was ambushed by Chinese troops in Arunachal Pradesh.
[Hindustan Times] learns that the officer is the commanding officer of the unit involved in the scrap, and that one of the other casualties is that of a JCO.
The army said the incident took place at a time the de-escalation process was “underway in the Galwan valley”. (…)
All the deaths are from thrown stones and rods that were used by the soldiers, people familiar with the matter said on condition of anonymity. The army did not comment on this. However, this won’t be the first time the two armies have engaged in fisticuffs or used stones as missiles to attack each other in the area.
In the war of 1962, China took large parts of Indian territory in that same region. Despite China’s continued demands for India to surrender more areas, the two countries have not gone to war ever since. This is the first deadly clash between the two countries in 45 years.
China blamed India for the deadly confrontation. The Indian side was guilty of “provoking and attacking Chinese personnel, resulting in serious physical confrontation between border forces on the two sides,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said on Tuesday.
The incident took place a day after China’s Communist Party mouthpiece threatened India for supporting the pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong, and building better economic ties with Taiwan, an independent country which Beijing treats as a breakaway province.
“The Indian government is expected not to let such negative sentiment sabotage China-India relations and intensify the two countries’ disputes.” the Communist Party-run Global Times warned in an editorial on Monday.
The United States has backed India in the face of recent Chinese aggression. Last month, Ambassador Alice Wells, the senior U.S. diplomat for South and Central Asia, called Communist China’s behavior towards India provocative and disturbing.
(Update: Indian causality figures revised from three to 20 based on official Indian statement)
[Cover image via YouTube]
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SO do Indian Lives Matter?
This is on the globalists that helped China gain so much power.
Vote for Biden and you are helping them too.
They bought-off most of our politicians and have cut us off at the knees. The next domino is India, their only other worthy adversary.
They’d sure like us to think there’s nothing we can do.
As a staunch patriot and keen observer, You’re obligated to describe in detail to your readers When, and Which ones of US politicians the Chinese “bought”, what the market value of the exchange was, and what, exactly, the medium of exchange was.
Tell us what you got except vent.
Obligated only to tell the commie prog thetaqjr to buzz off.
“…When, and Which ones of US politicians the Chinese “bought”… ”
For starters a quick search reveals from CNN in 1998 “WASHINGTON (AllPolitics, Jan. 28) — Charlie Trie, a longtime friend of President Bill Clinton, has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Washington in connection with campaign finance abuses, CNN has learned. “…”He raised a combined $1.2 million for the Democratic National Committee and Clinton’s legal defense fund — money which both entities later returned because of questions about its source. ”
From NR “The most suspect funds were brought in by Johnny Chung, a bagman for the Asian billionaire Riady family. Chung confessed that at least $35,000 of his donations to the Clinton campaign and the DNC had come from a Chinese aerospace executive — a lieutenant colonel in the Chinese military. Chung said the executive had helped him meet three times with General Ji Shengde, the head of Chinese military intelligence. According to Chung’s testimony, General Shengde had told him: “We really like your president. We hope he will be reelected. I will give you $300,000 U.S. dollars. You can give it to . . . your president and the Democratic party.”…”The sprawling fundraising scandal ultimately led to 22 guilty pleas on various violations of election laws.”
Hmmm, a Chinese aerospace executive…. “Trie accepted a plea bargain with federal prosecutors in 1999 in exchange for providing information about questionable campaign contributions from China. McAuliffe helped a company called Loral Space get seats on official trade missions.”(CapitalResearch.org). CNN again:”By Alex Frew McMillan HONG KONG, China –U.S. satellite maker Loral Space & Communications Ltd. has agreed to pay a $14 million fine for passing missile technology to China.”
Just for starters. Need a snorkel to breath? Pull your head out of the sand. Global *initiative* my ass.
WHat you got there is a full-blown, one-bad-apple conspiracy from twenty-two years stale? Who are the politicians being bagged?
Better India than the United States. And if the US government had any sense they’d let the two duke it out and not get involved.
Or do a lend-lease support of both sides to the extent required to prevent a victory.
UnCivilServant:
If you are not joking, why would you want to see India in a perpetual violent struggle with China?
This won’t stop with India. Communist China will sooner rather than later pose a global threat. It is time for a unified approach among like-minded allies (just like the Cold War days).
/this
Unfortunately, the “like minded allies” are few and far between, and that was if we even had the will to stop china now rather than later.
Australia – check
India – check
Rest of world – don’t make me laugh
OK, sorry, I left out Taiwan and Japan. They are reliable in a battle against China. Maybe.
Don’t forget Australia. As well as UK and much of the British Commonwealth.
Australia was the first one I picked 🙂
The UK? Nah, they no longer have the DNA left to fight against criminals, much less the chinese.
Yes, you did. I stand corrected.
More proof that Xi is in trouble and knows it.
India has the only population (and nukes) that can go toe to toe with China. Tibet, India and eventually japan, Taiwan and later Australia and NZ will be under their de facto economic control. This is slow motion aggression. These are still overshadowed by Wuhan which has been reduced to a means to turn the USA into a CCP clone by the Left. It’s as if the nation on Dec 9, 1941 forgot Pearl Harbor was attacked.
It’s worse: it’s as if the Japanese had bribed the entire democrat party and half the GOP and our schools and our media before bombing Pearl Harbor.
No one can defeat America, except from within. The ChiComms have done it. There is an epidemic of treason in the United States.
Brainwashed white snowflake nazis – them you can understand, to a degree (though we know they know they’re just looking for a free ride). But the likes of peolsi and feinstein – they’re willing traitors.
Excellent points… add to that a Japanese viewpoint that they had to attack America to save America.
“India has the only population…”
While the Indian military has some pretty ferocious fighters, they are no match for the chinese military.
China spends four+ times what India spends on the military. Every year, to the tune of roughly 220 billion to 50 billion.
Nuclear is a different story. And that is what calms any skirmish. Were Indians without nuclear weapons the chinese would run right over them.
This clash was telegraphed days ago … actually back to May 5th
– Chinese troops in large numbers have moved in at points in Galwan, Hot Springs, Pangong Tso and Gogra in Ladakh and in Naku La in Sikkim which are in Indian territory.
– Galwan in Ladakh and Naku La in Sikkim have not, in the past, figured in any list of disputed or sensitive areas. China seems to have enlarged the areas of dispute.
– China has begun a massive build-up on its side. India is matching that build-up on its side.
– For the first time ever, talks were led by military generals on both sides. Hitherto, talks were helmed by diplomats of the two Foreign Services or the Special Representatives.
India needs to respond and draw blood. China is the bully that goes around, emboldened, until someone has the guts to punch him in the nose. Further passivity on India’s part will rightly be interpreted by the Chinese as weakness. History bears this out.
Update: Twenty Indian soldiers killed and 43 Chinese troops injured or dead after hand-to-hand fighting at border point in Kashmir
We need to back India in this. Corner China further and it’s time to put down their little puppet regime in NK, too.
Detail your top to proposed to accomplish what you seek. Have you considered opening markets for a free exchange of goods between individuals and private companies? Without Eliminating Trump as a middleman, there is no free exchange.
Not all bullies are cowards. Often, a person standing up to a bully gets by bloodying his or her nose gets his or her ass kicked.
The commie prog chinaman thetaqjr speaks only lies.
What’s the world coming to when a man in a Bat suit labels commands, interrogatives and declarations as lies? The former two can’t even be true or false, much less lies.
The latter is either true or false, but it’s not a lie, it’s merely a claim to be argued.
True or false: Is Barry a dumbass?
“Eff you.” Am I lying?
Why does even LI dance around and call China’s invasion/act of war against India a “border dispute”? China f%$%’g invaded Indian, and I hope India kicks some ass and occupies some Chinese territory in response.
The phasing was entirely my decision. No editorial pressures here. I am going by the terminology used by Indian and Western media. Besides, the facts of the story speak for themselves.
You do know that this was a rocks and club battle, not shooting?
Dead is dead, but escalating a fight is not in anyone’s interest at this point.
China will pull back or make a deadly mistake. This isn’t the one.
The 20+ death toll on one side doesn’t sound much like a fist fight.
India, China have not been forthcoming with the facts. There’s more to the story. Let’s wait for the facts to unfold.
I agree – 20 dead would be one heck of a brawl. And that is only on one side. They are now saying there are 40+ Chinese “casualties,” which would include dead and wounded, I would assume. Perhaps, as you say, more information will emerge soon.
Facts are scant, certainly. But the reporting by both sides is absent any bullets. The terrain and weather could easily see a group clash resulting in that many deaths.
Just a further update. It appears the initial reporting was at least correct in that the clash was bullet free and that many may have fallen to their deaths in the very rough terrain where the conflict took place.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jun/17/shock-and-anger-in-india-after-worst-attack-on-china-border-in-decades
Sirs:
I have a comment that may not be completely politically correct, but expresses 2 worries I have.
As a foundation I believe the west (NATO, ANZAC,Israel etc) should strongly back India. This would not only be to back a democratic country but to try and contain China. My two big worries are these:
1. It is only in recent years that India leaned towards the west. It used to be a leader of the Non-Aligned countries which was a false front for the USSR’s diplomacy. How reliable an ally are they?
2. Their armed forces. I have no doubts about the valour of Indian troops. In two world wars they were excellent soldiers in the Empire/Commonwealth armies. But I have doubts about their (a) equipment and (b) leadership.
Re (a) I know they have high tech stuff but I will never erase the memory of their special forces during the Mumbai massacre going into action carrying Lee-Enfield .303’s.
Re (b) Every time there is a skirmish/battle between Indian and Chinese troops on the border, the Indians always seem to get hammered. In this specific case, twenty soldiers got killed. That’s a lot. I have doubts about the abilities and skill of their mid-level officers and integrity of their high level officers. It’s a country with great corruption and I get a bad feeling about their leadership.
And if they are going to confront China, they need good professionals.
Those are my concerns.
Rgds
BML
Let us also factor in the change of guard in New Delhi, from Socialist Congress Party to Modi’s Hindu Nationalists.
Modi’s consecutive landslide victories have broken Left’s 70 year lock on power. Unlike the Indian Left, Modi sees the US, West and Israel as natural allies.
India has not lost a single armed conflict with the exception of the 1962 war with China. With all due respect to Arabs, we are not dealing with the Iraqi National Army here.
Chinese are better trained and equipped. No doubt. But if cornered, Indians will fight for every inch of their soil.
And I hope we back them 100%…if there’s any anti-corruption forces in the UN, then they and the EU will stand up to China, too. China is formidable but couldn’t stand up to that. I won’t hold my breath for commitments to the destruction of tyranny from the modern powers of Europe, though.
Indians will have to fight their own battles, but a strong U.S.to counter China will help
I think India is used to having fight her own battles with little or only token support from the Western nations. Fortunately, India has a valorous military tradition (even if mostly unknown to Westerners — who often think of Indians as polite [true] and timid [untrue]).
A good friend of mine is Sri Lankan, and he helped educate me about Indian history.
While I am no longer traveling to India often, I still have many friends and business partners there. Every one is happy with Modi.
The Indian Left isn’t. But when was the Left happy anyway?
🙂
None of my Indian friends could remotely be called “left”…
The tilt towards the non-aligned movement had more to do with India breaking from the UK for independence and the US strong backing of UK interests. The US also strongly supported Pakistan which split from India a particularly nasty war of secession. India, more from perceived necessity sought help from the USSR for arms and aid and diplomatic support, but I note India always refused to enter the Soviet orbit. US-Indian relations improved markedly as US-Pakistani relations soured. Should US-Pakistani relations continue to erode, or at least not improve, and relations to China also continue to erode, India will continue is drift towards the United States. Indian culture and society has its issues, mostly relating to the caste system, but overall, it is a more natural partner for the United States in very many respects. I hope investment capital flows from China to India.
“I hope investment capital flows from China to India.”
I know what you meant 🙂
A commenter farther up the message chain suggested a lend-lease program for both sides. This would be a terrible idea, but a lend-lease program for India (IF the Indians want it) would be an excellent one. If it happens we would need to be prepared for the Chinese reaction, but aren’t we already starting to bring back R&D and manufacturing from China anyway?
.