China Releases New Video Of Galwan Valley Clash

A new video of the clashes that took place between Indian and Chinese soldiers in the Galwan Valley last year has emerged.

The footage, posted on Twitter by open-source intelligence handle @detresfa, is part of an interview in the Chinese state media of the families of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) troops killed in the clash.

The clash took place in the Galwan Valley, close to Patrol Point 14, in eastern Ladakh, where the Indian Army and the PLA were locked in a standoff, which continues at many friction points along the Line of Actual Control.

In the highly edited video, which is an attempt at propaganda by the Chinese state-controlled media, the PLA soldiers are seen pelting stones at Indian troops from an elevated position. Indian and Chinese soldiers can be seen pushing each other on the rocky banks of the Galwan River.

After nightfall, some Chinese soldiers can be seen pulling out others from the fast-flowing stream with flashlights in the background.

This video has emerged after China recognised that it lost troops in the clash with India and named four officers and soldiers who died. However, the number given by China has been rejected by independent experts, who say dozens of Chinese soldiers are likely to have died in the clash.

Reports citing the assessment of the clash by US intelligence say China could have lost as many as 35 soldiers in the Galwan clash.

Earlier this month, a slip up by the Global Times, a hawkish portal owned by the Chinese Communist Party mouthpiece People's Daily, suggested that at least one more Chinese soldier may have died in the clash.

“The 33-yeard-old Chen Hongjun sacrificed his life in the frontline confrontation with India in the Galwan Valley in June 2020, along with four others of his comrades-in-arms,” the Global Times said (underline added), suggesting that a fifth soldier had died in the clash.

The Global Times later claimed that it was an 'error' and updated its story.

After the clashes in June last year, China had refused to release the number of PLA soldiers killed in the Galwan Valley. The figure of four was released with names months after the clash.

Recently, a report in the Business Standard claimed that new clashes had taken place between Indian and Chinese troops in the area.

The report, which did not reveal the date of the alleged clash (later revealed by the author in an interview as 3 July 2021), was labelled "false and baseless" by the Indian Army.

The Army said the Business Standard report is "riddled with inaccuracies and misinformation" and called the intentions of the reporter "malafide".

On Saturday (31 July), India and China held the 12th round of the Corps Commander-level talks to discuss disengagement in the Gogra and Hot Springs area and the Depsang Plains.

The latest reports say the two sides have reached an agreement on resolving the standoffs at Patrol Point 17A near the Hot Springs area, but no understanding has been reached for resolving the conflict at other friction points, where Indian Army troops and equipment remain deployed in large numbers.