Video: Amid LAC standoff, China conducts high-altitude military drill with advanced tanks, missile systems
Amid ongoing tension with India at LAC, China has recently conducted joint exercises keeping in mind the high-elevation mountainous region, The People's Liberation Army (PLA) Tibet Military Command said on Tuesday. This revelation come after a violent clash broke in the Galwan Valley region out at the China-India border on Monday.
According to US intelligence reports, the Chinese Army suffered 35 casualties during the violent clash with the Indian military in eastern Ladakh's Galwan Valley, official sources said on Wednesday quoting US intelligence reports. The figure could be a combination of total number of soldiers killed and seriously wounded, they added. While the Indian Army on Tuesday said 20 Army personnel, including a colonel, were killed on Monday night in the biggest ever military confrontation between the two armies in over five decades.
According to the Global Times, the exercise that featured multiple types of combat recently took place in the Nianqing Tanggula, or Nyenchen Tonglha mountains at an elevation of 4,700 meters.
Issuing a statement on the clash, India has said that a violent face-off happened on late evening and night of June 15 in Ladakh's Galwan Valley as a result of an attempt by the Chinese troops to "unilaterally change" the status quo during de-escalation and the situation could have been avoided if the agreement at the higher level been scrupulously followed by the Chinese side.
"We note the Indian military has announced that 20 soldiers have died, and we offer our condolences to their families. During their phone call on June 2, 2020, President Trump and Prime Minister Modi discussed the situation on the India-China border," the spokesperson further said.
During the faceoff, the External Affairs Ministry said, both sides suffered casualties and the Chinese side had departed from the consensus to respect the LAC in the Galway Valley.
(With inputs from ANI)
