Indian officer, two others killed in clash with PLA; casualties on both sides

The Indian military suffered a number of casualties, together with that of an officer, in a “violent face off” with the PLA on Monday evening in japanese Ladakh, the military mentioned in a press release. It added that there have been casualties on each side.

These are the primary Indian casualties in a conflict with the PLA since 1975 when an Indian patrol was ambushed by Chinese troops in Arunachal Pradesh.

HT learns that the officer is the commanding officer of the unit concerned within the scrap, and that one of many different casualties is that of a JCO.

The military mentioned the incident occurred at a time the “de-escalation process” was “underway in the Galwan valley”. Senior “military officials of the two sides are currently meeting to defuse the situation”, the military mentioned, signalling that the efforts to stablise the state of affairs remains to be work in progress.

All the deaths are from thrown stones and rods that have been utilized by the troopers, individuals acquainted with the matter mentioned on situation of anonymity. The military didn’t touch upon this. However, this gained’t be the primary time the 2 armies have engaged in fisticuffs or used stones as missiles to assault one another within the space.

Army chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane has cancelled a scheduled go to to Pathankot on Tuesday, officers mentioned.

The encounter occurred alongside the contested Line of Actual Control (LAC) in japanese Ladakh the place rival troopers have been caught in a standoff that started with a confrontation between rival patrols close to Pangong Tso on the evening of May 5-6.

The Indian Army is alleged to have suffered three casualties, together with a colonel, within the sector on Monday, mentioned one particular person acquainted with the matter. Both sides suffered deadly casualties on Monday, claimed one other particular person acquainted with the matter. Both requested to not be named. The variety of Chinese casualties wasn’t instantly identified.

The China’s overseas ministry mentioned it wasn’t conscious of fatalities on both facet.

Zhao Lijian, spokesperson of the Chinese overseas ministry, spoke concerning the shut communication via army and diplomatic channels earlier than happening responsible Indian troopers for Monday night’s violent change.

“Our border troops had a high-level meeting and reached important consensus on easing the border situation. But astonishingly on June 15, the Indian troops seriously violated our consensus and twice crossed the border line for illegal activities and provoked and attacked Chinese personnel which led to serious physical conflict between the two sides,’’ Zhao said.

The worrying development comes at a time when India and China are continuing diplomatic and military engagements for an early resolution of the standoff between border troops.

The border row seems to have turned from bad to worse even as army delegations from India and China held discussions along the to break the stalemate.

Former Northern Army commander Lt Gen DS Hooda (retd) flagged concerns about the “serious escalation” alongside the LAC saying that it mirrored the heightened tensions on the bottom. “This will require diplomatic intervention,” he mentioned.

The talks occurred at two places alongside the LAC — brigadier-ranked officers met within the Galwan space and Colonel-ranked officers in Hot Springs — as a part of persevering with efforts to resolve the standoff.

Army chief General Naravane final week mentioned disengagement of Indian and Chinese forces was happening in a “phased manner” alongside the LAC the place the state of affairs was “under control”.

Limited disengagement of forces at Galwan Valley, Patrolling Point 15 and Hot Springs started after a gathering between Lieutenant General Harinder Singh, commander of Leh-based 14 Corps, and Major General Liu Lin, commander of the People’s Liberation Army within the South Xinjiang area, on June 6.

India is now targeted on resolving the state of affairs on the northern financial institution of Pangong Tso, which has been on the centre of the continued border scrap and the place troops are nonetheless locked in a faceoff.

Last month’s violent confrontations between Indian and Chinese troopers in japanese Ladakh and north Sikkim triggered a army buildup on each side of the LAC that stretched from Ladakh to Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh, as reported by Hindustan Times on Friday.

The Chinese buildup started instantly after clashes between border troops in Ladakh and Sikkim on May 5-6 and May 9, and predated the June 6 assembly between Lieutenant General Singh and his Chinese counterpart.

HT was the primary to report on May 10 about border tensions between India and China flaring up when 150 troopers have been concerned in a tense standoff in north Sikkim a day earlier. Four Indian and 7 Chinese troopers have been injured at Naku La through the confrontation.

Scores of troopers from the 2 international locations have been additionally injured close to Pangong Tso on the evening of May 5-6, with the scuffle involving round 250 males.