New Delhi: China has for the first time officially admitted that five of the People’s Liberation Army soldiers were killed in the border clash in the Galwan Valley in Ladakh in June last year.
The PLA Daily on Friday identified those killed included Qi Fabao, the regimental commander from the PLA Xinjiang Military Command, Chen Hongjun, Chen Xiangrong, Xiao Siyuan and Wang Zhuoran, the state-run Global Times reported, quoting the Chinese Army’s mouthpiece.
“The Central Military Commission awarded Qi Fabao, the regimental commander from the PLA Xinjiang Military Command, the title of “Heroic regimental commander for defending the border,” Chen Hongjun with “Hero to defend the border,” and awarded first-class merit to Chen Xiangrong, Xiao Siyuan and Wang Zhuoran,” said Global Times.
This is the first time China has unveiled casualties and details of these officers and soldiers, it said.
Global Times quoted Qian Feng, director of the research department at the National Strategy Institute at Tsinghua University, as telling that China unveiled the details of the incident to refute previous disinformation that stated China suffered greater casualties than India or China incited the incident.
“New equipment has also been deployed to the regiment since January, including light tanks, and logistic supplies have also been updated to offer firm support to soldiers stationed along the border areas,” it said.
