China on Friday officially admitted that its soldiers were killed in Galwan Valley clash with the Indian Army. Acknowledging that the casualties were suffered by the country's military in Galwan, China has named and shared details of four Peoples' Liberation Army (PLA) soldiers who died during the border clash with Indian soldiers in eastern Ladakh in June last year.
Earlier, China refused to disclose the details of casualties in the bloody clash in Galwan.
In a report on Friday, the Chinese government's mouthpiece Global Times said the Central Military Commission of China "recognised" five Chinese frontier officers and soldiers "for their sacrifice in border confrontation with India". Of the five PLA soldiers "honoured for their sacrifice" by China, four were killed in last year's Galwan Valley clash in Ladakh with the Indian Army, Global Times report added.
"Five Chinese frontier officers and soldiers stationed in the Karakorum Mountains have been recognised by the Central Military Commission of China for their contributions in the border confrontation with India, which occurred in the Galwan Valley in June 2020," Global Times quoted the PLA Daily as saying on Friday.
A Reuters report citing Chinese media reported: "Chen Hongjun, Chen Xiangrong, Xiao Siyuan and Wang Zhuoran died a fierce struggle" against "foreign troops". Chen Hongjun was posthumously awarded the title of "Hero to defend the border," while the other three were given first-class merit citations, the report added.
China has shared the details of Chinese officers and soldiers who died in the clash with the Indian Army in Ladakh for the first time. Following the clash, while India said 20 Army soldiers were killed in the bloody clash, China refused to reveal its casualty figure and instead termed reports of PLA soldiers being killed in the face-off in eastern Ladakh as "fake news".
