10th round on way forward

Ajay Banerjee

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, February 20

Even as China continues to blame India for triggering the Galwan clash, the militaries of the two sides today held the 10th round of Corps Commander-level talks to take forward the disengagement process in Hot Springs, Gogra and Depsang in eastern Ladakh.

Coming two days after the complete withdrawal of troops from Pangong Tso, the talks started at 10 am at the Moldo border point on the Chinese side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC), said sources. The focus was to bring down tensions in the region that witnessed a tense standoff between the two sides for over nine months, the sources said. After agreeing for pullback, the Chinese ministries of defence and foreign affairs have tried to wrongly blame the Indian Army for initiating the Galwan valley clash on the night of June 15 last year. Available evidence, however, shows the clash was initiated by the People’s Liberation Army of China as the Indian troops were unarmed and had visited the site to verify an agreed-upon disengagement process. The Chinese had set up a camp at the bend of the Galwan valley along the LAC and refused to move back despite an agreement to do so on June 6.

Senior functionaries on the Indian side see the latest Chinese statements as a face-saver for their local audience, which did not have access to independent media or global opinion.

Yesterday, the Chinese Defence Ministry blamed India and put out a transcript on its website quoting Senior Colonel Ren Guoqiang, its spokesman. “The responsibility of the skirmish at the Galwan valley lies entirely with the Indian side,” it said. The Indian side had “repeatedly hyped the casualties, misled international public opinion, and slandered the Chinese border troops”, claimed the Chinese Colonel.

The statements that have come within 10 days of commencement of the disengagement process show that China was under pressure to accept its casualties and, thus, honoured five soldiers for gallantry. This came eight months after India honoured its braves. The gallantry awards do not denote the casualties, which would be greater in number, sources explained to The Tribune.

“We are always committed to resolving disputes through dialogue and maintaining peace and stability in border areas,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying claimed at a press interaction.

From the Indian perspective, the June clash was a re-run of the one on October 20, 1962, when the Chinese announced they had “peaceful intentions” and asked the Indian troops to vacate Galwan post. On being resisted, the post, manned by the 5th battalion of the Jat Regiment, was attacked. A bloody battle had ensued, just like the one in June last year.

‘History of the Conflict with China—1962’, released for restricted circulation by the Ministry of Defence in March 1993, says “the gallant fight is glorious chapter in Indian history…. the Indian troops fought a last-ditch battle (36 were killed). The Galwan valour imposed a caution on the Chinese.”