Three Indian military personnel dead as Indo-China tension escalates

By Tenzin Dharpo

DHARAMSHALA, June 16: A commanding officer and two soldiers have died on the Indian side after a violent clash with Chinese counterparts on Monday night in the Galwan valley in Ladakh, the Army said Tuesday.

Galwan valley is one of the three points where Indian and Chinese forces have locked horns at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh between the two nuclear armed Asian giants. “During the de-escalation process underway in the Galwan Valley, a violent face-off took place yesterday night with casualties on both sides. The loss of lives on the Indian side includes an officer and two soldiers. Senior military officials of the two sides are currently meeting,” the Army said in a statement.

The army said that casualties were suffered on both sides although China has made no confirmation on any death on their side. A spokesperson for the Chinese foreign ministry said the country’s troops had been “provoked and attacked” and that Indian troops had crossed into Chinese territory.

Weeks into the standoff, defence experts and political analysts have said that de-escalation is in the best interest of both sides although some have urged befitting reply to frequent Chinese incursions and taunts into Indian territory. Brahma Chellaney, a professor of strategic studies at the Centre for Policy Research, a think-tank based in New Delhi told FT, “The risks of further military clashes cannot be discounted. What has happened now is a direct result of China’s aggression. It caught India napping by stealthily encroaching on key border areas in Ladakh. Unless the [Chinese military] is wiling to roll back, the border situation will remain tense and difficult.”

The flashpoint for the standoff is said to be China’s objection to India developing a strategic bridge and roads in the Galwan valley, a supply route to its forward bases. However, the President of the exile Tibetan government, known officially as the Central Tibetan Administration, Dr. Lobsang Sangay said that apart form expansionist Chinese objectives, engaging the frontier in Ladakh may also be to divert public attention from the Covid-19 crisis in the mainland.

Many say that the deaths on either side may add more fuel to the ongoing tension. The last deaths at the LAC were in 1975 when an Indian patrol was ambushed by Chinese soldiers in Arunachal Pradesh.

The Tibetan statesman said the two countries must talk to avoid military confrontation and make the area demilitarized. Dr. Sangay said that India needs to learn from the Tibet narrative and how the Chinese leadership mind-set works moving forward while urging that a lasting peace between the two countries will only come after resolving the Tibetan issue.