FACT CHECK: 100 Chinese Soldiers Killed In India-China Border Clash At Galwan Valley?

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EurAsian Times Desk
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Twitter in India is trending with #100Chinese and #GalwanValley. Indian netizens are jubilant that the Indian army has killed 100 Chinese soldiers in the Galwan Valley clash where India also lost 20 soldiers.

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How correct is the claim that 100 Chinese soldiers have been killed in Galwan Valley clash? EurAsian Times searched the story which was trending on Twitter.

The Viral Story Trending On Twitter

Jianli Yang, a former Chinese military official and son of a leader in the Chinese communist party, made a sensational claim ‘More than 100 Chinese soldiers were killed in the dreadful conflict between Indian and Chinese soldiers, in the night of 15th June. But the Chinese government is hiding this information from the Chinese people. President Xi Jinping is worried that if the information regarding the soldiers, killed in the Galwan valley, is disclosed the serving, as well as the retired soldiers, can revolt. Not only this but even there can be a rebellion, even from within the communist party.’  

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Jianli Yang accused that the Chinese government is not willing to disclose the information regarding the Galwan Valley conflict, in his article written for the newspaper Washington Times. Yang reminded that in the last few days, Zhao Lijiang, the spokesman of the Chinese foreign ministry has dodged the questions regarding the Chinese casualties, in the Galwan Valley, during various news conferences. Yang made vitriolic criticism that China is not willing to openly state the number of casualties in the Galwan Valley conflict, but the Indian government honoured their martyrs.   

Yang presented the plight of the soldiers saying ‘It is better not to think of the state of the retired Chinese army personnel when China does not care for the serving soldiers and martyrs from the Chinese military. The Chinese government frequently treats the retired soldiers, who participated in the 1979 China-Vietnam or the Korean war, with contempt. These soldiers are protesting against the communist government for pension, medical facilities and employment, for the last many years. But the Chinese government is not willing to take cognisance of their demands.’  

There are nearly 57.5 million soldiers retired from the Chinese People’s Liberation Army. Every year these soldiers protest for their pension and other demands. Saying that the Jinping government takes action against these soldiers, he has cited the protests held by the retired soldiers against Jinping, in various cities including Beijing. Yang also claimed that moreover, there is anger brewing in these soldiers against Jinping as he closed the other avenues of employment for these soldiers.  

The Chinese rulers are worried that in this scenario, if it is announced that the number of Chinese soldiers killed is in multiples of the number of Indian soldiers, Jinping will have to face a backlash and the retired soldiers, taking advantage of the situation, will attack the Chinese government. Jinping is well aware that once the retired Chinese soldiers declare a rebellion, even the iron grip of the government cannot control the situation. Therefore, since the last few years, Jinping has been appealing to the Chinese military, to have complete faith in him. 

The story has appeared in some personal blog and seems unauthentic.  As earlier reported by the EurAsian Times, India lost 20 soldiers in Galwan Valley border clash, but how many Chinese soldiers were killed in violent border clash remained a mystery?

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The Chinese government has not yet revealed the number of casualties suffered by the PLA troops during the fearsome clash, however media reports reveal some details.

Sources in the Indian government are citing ‘some’ U.S. intelligence reports which claim that 35 Chinese soldiers were killed during the violent clash with the Indian army. The figure, however, is a combination of a total number of soldiers killed and wounded.

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Government sources revealed to media that the Chinese side suffered “proportionate casualties” but it does not have a clear picture of the number of Chinese soldiers killed as well as those injured in the clash.

India Today journalist Rajdeep Sardesai wrote that ANI claimed based on “Chinese intercepts” that “43 Chinese soldiers [were] killed in the clashes”. He further wrote that there hasn’t been any confirmation from the Chinese side.

Another figure was shared by Times Now as ‘breaking news’ on June 17 — “China accepts 30 soldiers have been killed during the Ladakh standoff” —  citing Global Times. The tweets were later deleted as they turned out to be fake.

The Chinese government has not disclosed the number of fatalities on their side. The Editor-in-Chief of  Global Times accepted the casualties but did not reveal any figures.

Hu tweeted – Chinese side didn’t release number of PLA casualties in clash with Indian soldiers. My understanding is the Chinese side doesn’t want people of the two countries to compare the casualties number so to avoid stoking public mood. This is goodwill from Beijing.

BBC wrote – China has not released casualty figures. Unconfirmed reports in Indian media say at least 40 Chinese soldiers died. Some Indian soldiers are still believed to be missing. Earlier PM Modi said the Indian deaths “will not be in vain” and that India would be “proud that our soldiers died fighting the Chinese” in the clash in the Ladakh region on Monday.

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CNN Wrote: At least 20 Indian soldiers were killed in a bloody brawl with Chinese troops on Monday in the Galwan Valley, close to Aksai Chin, an area controlled by China but claimed by both countries. It is unclear if or how many Chinese soldiers died.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi spoke out in favour of a diplomatic resolution to the India-China border conflict in his phone call with his Indian counterpart S. Jaishankar. Wang said “mutual suspicion and friction are the way of evil and run counter to the fundamental wishes of both countries’ people,” according to a statement released by China’s foreign ministry.

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Analysts for Al Jazeera wrote – The intensified tensions along the Indian and Chinese border in Ladakh has exposed that India was “ill-prepared to deal with an assertive China”.

“India has a government that claims to be strong against its enemy, but New Delhi has been shown and exposed as weak. What they promised was a strong India, but what they got was an Indian army that ill-prepared to deal with an assertive China,” he said.

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According to experts talking to the EurAsian Times, the official figures of Chinese soldiers killed in border clashes will never come out. The Indian media claim that 30-40 Chinese soldiers have been killed, while there will never be an official statement from Indian or the Chinese government.

China later broke its silence over its casualties in the June 15 clash between Indian and Chinese troops while calling it a “fake news” reports that more than 40 Chinese soldiers were killed in the face-off in eastern Ladakh.

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Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian, who repeatedly dodged questions on the casualties suffered by PLA Troops since the incident occurred, reacted to the remarks of former army chief General  V K Singh who said, if we lost 20 soldiers, more than double the number were killed on their side.

“As for what you saw in the media, for example, some people alleged that casualties on the Chinese amounted to 40. I can tell you for sure this is fake news, Zhao said, without giving any further details.

This was the first time China has commented on the casualties

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