Galwan Valley clash was ‘planned’ by China: US panel report

The tension between the Indian Army and Chinese troops escalated after the violent clashes in Galwan Valley on June 15 (Source: Reuters)

A report drawn up by a US panel has concluded that the violent clashes that broke out between Indian and Chinese troopers near the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Galwan Valley, Eastern Ladakh, was “planned” by Beijing, reported the Hindustan Times.

In the report submitted to the US Congress, the commission wrote that the Chinese government had planned the clash with Indian security personnel in June, in which 20 Indian Army men and an unspecified number of Chinese soldiers had lost their lives.

The report submitted by the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission on December 1, describes the months-long India-China border standoff as the “most severe border crisis in decades”.

Describing the Galwan Valley clash of June 15 as a “massive physical brawl” between the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and the Indian Army, the report said: “Some evidence suggested the Chinese government had planned the incident, potentially including the possibility for fatalities. For instance, several weeks prior to the clash, Defense Minister Wei [Fenghe] made his statement encouraging Beijing to ‘use fighting to promote stability’.”

The report further stated that satellite images revealed there was a large Chinese build-up in Eastern Ladakh, which included 1,000 PLA soldiers, just a week before the clashes.

Besides, ahead of the Galwan Valley clash, an editorial in the state-owned ‘Global Times’ had warned that India would suffer if it got “involved in the US-China rivalry”.

The latest US-China Economic and Security Review report focuses primarily on China’s assertive actions against Hong Kong and Taiwan, and the standoff with India. It states that China’s exact motive behind the provocative behaviour on the LAC remains unclear, but it could be because India is constructing a “strategic access road to support troops stationed along the LAC”.