The violent face-off took place at nearly 15,000 feet up in the Himalayas near the Galwan River
All Indian soldiers involved in the deadly clash with China at the Galwan Valley area in Ladakh on Monday have now been accounted for, senior officials of the army said today. Newspaper reports had discussed the possibility of some Indian soldiers being in Chinese custody; The Hindu newspaper said this morning that "several soldiers are still unaccounted for and a few could still be in the custody of Chinese troops on the ground." The Army did not comment on the reports but said: ''It is clarified that there are no Indian troops missing in action.'' A Major General of the Army started a second round of talks today with Chinese officers near the spot where 20 soldiers were killed in a brutal fight on Monday. There were significant casualties on both sides and though Beijing has given no official figure, army sources say at least 45 Chinese soldiers were killed or injured.
Here are the top 10 points in this big story:
In the violent face-off which took place at nearly 15,000 feet in the Himalayas along the freezing Galwan River, Indian soldiers were attacked with iron rods, rocks wrapped in barbed wire and nail-studded clubs. Some soldiers fell off a steep ridge into the river.
Some Indian soldiers are still recovering at a hospital in Ladakh but more information on this is not being disclosed until the army declares that it is safe to do so.
High resolution satellite images procured by NDTV indicate Chinese attempts to block or disturb the flow of the Galwan river, less than a kilometer from the site of the face-off. The images clearly show Chinese bulldozers in operation on their side of the LAC, at a spot where the river's flow appears to change.
The images also indicate the depth of both the Indian and Chinese build-up in the region.
The sacrifice of the Indian soldiers would not go in vain, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said yesterday, warning that India would give a fitting reply if provoked.
Stressing on the need for peace and de-escalation, the Foreign Ministry today said Minister S Jaishankar will not cancel a video meet with China and Russia on June 23 on the coronavirus crisis.
"Both sides should ensure peace and tranquility. The two sides are in touch, maintaining communication at commander levels," said the Foreign Ministry.
Mr Jaishankar, in a phone call with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, had warned that "this unprecedented development will have a serious impact on the bilateral relationship" and urged China to take corrective steps. But both ministers agreed that "neither side would take any action to escalate matters" and would implement a previously agreed disengagement.
The clash involving hundreds of soldiers erupted on Monday when a small Indian patrol moved to remove a Chinese tent at the Galwan river valley and Chinese soldiers targeted Indian Colonel B Santosh Babu. China had agreed to remove the tent after the talks between military commanders of both sides on June 6.
The spike in tensions began in early May, when several Indian and Chinese soldiers were injured in a clash involving fists and stone-throwing
