New Delhi: Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said on Tuesday he was not aware of any incident on the border with India after the Indian army said one of its officers and two soldiers were killed in a “violent faceoff” there.
The Indian army said on Tuesday senior military officials from both sides were meeting to calm the situation. The two sides have been locked in a standoff in the western Himalayas for weeks.
Hours after the Indian Army said that a Colonel and two soldiers had died in Monday night’s violent faceoff, it confirmed 17 more “who were critically injured in the line of duty at the stand off location and exposed to sub-zero temp in the high altitude terrain” have succumbed to their injuries.
“Indian and Chinese troops have disengaged at the Galwan area where they had earlier clashed on the night of 15/16 June 2020. 17 Indian troops who were critically injured in the line of duty at the stand off location and exposed to sub-zero temperatures in the high altitude terrain have succumbed to their injuries, taking the total that were killed in action to 20. Indian Army is firmly committed to protect the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the nation,” the Army statement said.
“Given its responsible approach to border management, India is very clear that all its activities are always within the Indian side of the LAC. We expect the same of the Chinese side,” the MEA said in a statement. Meanwhile, Beijing urged India to “strictly restrain its frontline troops from crossing the border or taking any unilateral action that may complicate the border situation”.
