Australian Paper Report Says China Suffered More Casualties In Galwan Valley Clash Than It Revealed

February 4, 2022

While 20 Indian soldiers had lost their lives in the deadly fight, China admitted to losing at least four soldiers. A fifth, Qi Fabao, China said, had sustained serious head injuries. Maxar WorldView-3 satellite image shows close up view of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) border and patrol point 14 in the eastern Ladakh sector of Galwan Valley. (Reuters)

The Valley clash on June 15, 2020, had resulted in the death of at least 38 Chinese soldiers, according to a report by Australian journalist Anthony Klan in newspaper ‘The Klaxon’ on Thursday, building on a report that he said was prepared by Chinese social media users.

Klan wrote that “evidence provided by a group of social media researchers, which The Klaxon has independently built on, appears to support claims that China’s casualties extended well beyond the four soldiers named by Beijing”.

He wrote that “China’s losses” in the border clash, the bloodiest between India and China in over four decades, “were much higher than reported with many soldiers drowning while crossing a fast-flowing, sub-zero river in darkness, new research claims.” According to the report, “Evidence has also emerged that strongly suggests some reports of the incident have conflated facts and imagery of two separate but similar clashes that occurred just over a week apart.”

Quoting a report titled ‘Galwan Decoded’ “prepared by a group of social media researchers”, without naming the researchers Klan wrote that it cites a “a year-long investigation involving discussions with mainland Chinese bloggers, information obtained from mainland-based Chinese citizens and media reports that have since been deleted by Chinese authorities.”

While 20 Indian soldiers had lost their lives in the deadly fight, China admitted to losing at least four soldiers. A fifth, Qi Fabao, China said, had sustained serious head injuries.

Courtesy: IE