A report in an Australian investigative newspaper has revealed that China is hiding its losses in the Galwan Valley clash with India as 38 PLA troops drowned while crossing a fast-flowing, sub-zero river in darkness
Our Bureau
New Delhi/Beijing
In a shocking display of politics, China’s People’s Liberation Army’s regimental commander, who had suffered severe injuries during the Galwan clash with Indian army, became the torchbearer at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics Torch Relay on Wednesday.
Qi Fabao, the regimental commander from the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Xinjiang military command, who suffered a serious head injury during the Galwan Valley border skirmish on June 15, 2020, took the flame from Wang Meng, China’s four-time Olympic short track speed skating champion, at Winter Olympic Park on Wednesday.
Referring to China choosing a PLA commander injured in Galwan clash for 2022 Winter Olympics torch relay, India on Thursday expressed regret that Beijing has chosen to politicize an event like the Olympics and said its charge d’affaires will not be attending the opening or closing ceremony of the event.
“It is indeed regrettable that the Chinese side has chosen to politicize an event like the Olympics. I wish to inform you that our charge d’affaires of the embassy of India in Beijing will not be attending the opening or closing ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Olympics,” External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bauchi said at the weekly media briefing.
A US lawmaker on Wednesday slammed China for choosing the PLA commander for Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics torch relay. “It’s shameful that Beijing chose a torchbearer for the Olympics2022 who’s part of the military command that attacked India in 2020 and is implementing genocide against the Uyghurs. The US will continue to support Uyghur freedoms and the sovereignty of India,” said Senator Jim Risch, a Republican who is a Ranking Member of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Meanwhile, a report in an Australian investigative newspaper has revealed that China is hiding its losses in the Galwan Valley clash with India. The new research has shown that the PLA lost at least nine times more soldiers than its official count of four. At least 38 PLA troops drowned while crossing a fast-flowing, sub-zero river in darkness, according to an article in the ‘The Klaxon’ which cited a report prepared by a group of social media researchers after a year-long investigation.
The report cited a year-long investigation involving discussions with mainland Chinese bloggers, information obtained from mainland-based Chinese citizens and media reports that have since been deleted by Chinese authorities.
The Klaxon said that claims of substantial Chinese casualties of the high-altitude Galwan Valley clash are not new. However, evidence provided by a group of social media researchers which the newspaper has independently built on, appears to support assertions that China’s casualties extended well beyond the four soldiers named by Beijing.
The evidence provided by the group of social media users also shows extreme lengths Beijing has gone to in order to silence discussion about the battle, especially discussion about the true number of Chinese casualties, according to The Klaxon.
The report titled “Galwan Decoded” prepared by a group of social media researchers has shed significant light on the saga. It cites a year-long investigation involving discussions with mainland Chinese bloggers, information obtained from mainland-based Chinese citizens and media reports that have since been deleted by Chinese authorities.
“A lot of facts about what really happened, what led to the skirmish, have been hidden by Beijing. What was told by (China) to the world were mostly fabricated stories. Many blogs and pages have been culled by (Chinese authorities) but digital archives of mainland China reveal a different story,” the report states, according to the newspaper.
At the heart of the disclosure is that many Chinese soldiers were killed while attempting to cross back over the fast-flowing Galwan River in the early stages of the June 15-16 battle.
The Klaxon also obtained footage of the battle, released by Chinese media in August last year, that appears to strongly support the claims. “According to a Weibo user alias name Qiang who claims to have served in the area, the PLA was creating infrastructure in this buffer zone, violating the mutual agreement and had been trying to expand its patrolling limits within the buffer zone since April 2020,” the researchers state.
