5 Chinese soldiers along with one commanding officer and two soldiers of the Indian Army were reported to have died in fresh clashes at the Galwan Valley. One of the soldiers martyred on the India side was Mr. Palani from Kadukalur village, Ramanathapuram in Tamil Nadu.
The statement by the Indian Defence Ministry said that a violent face-off took place last night during the de-escalation process with casualties. While the first statement mentioned only the loss on the India side, the statement that came in 16 minutes later mentioned that that there were casualties on both side without revealing the number of soldiers killed on the Chinese side. It added that the two sides are currently meeting at the venue (reportedly Patrol Point 14) to defuse the situation.
The Global Times (English version of China’s state newspaper Xinhua news) confirmed that 5 soldiers were lost and 11 were injured on the Chinese side.
Going by the latest update, it is being said that the casualties on the India side could go up.
It is being reported that there was no bullets fired. The clash was with stones and clubs.
Tensions have been on the rise along the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh due to differences in “perception of border” leading to scuffles. Soldiers at Pangong Tso in Ladakh and Naku La in Sikkim had faceoffs. Both the armies have deployed more men and military equipments in the region. India has been developing its border roads faster than before. India had built the road bridge in Galway valley between Durbuk and Daulat Beg Oldi to replace the earlier wooden bridge in easter Ladakh despite Chinese opposition. India had made it clear to the Chinese side that it will carry on with border infrastructure development.