A Chinese foreign ministry spokesman on Saturday accused India of deliberately provoking a border clash between both nuclear-armed states.
On Tuesday India said at least 20 of its soldiers had been killed in a violent face-off with Chinese forces on the disputed Himalayan border.
The fighting took place without any firearms because of a 1996 agreement barring guns and explosives from the area.
In a series of tweets Saturday, spokesman Lijian Zhao, gave a breakdown of what transpired at the border in recent days.
A step-by-step account of the Galwan clash
1. The Galwan Valley is located on the Chinese side of the Line of Actual Control in the west section of the China-India boundary. For many years, the Chinese border troops have been patrolling and on duty in this region.
— Lijian Zhao 赵立坚 (@zlj517) June 20, 2020
Read the spokesman’s step-by-step account:
A step-by-step account of the Galwan clash
1. The Galwan Valley is located on the Chinese side of the Line of Actual Control in the west section of the China-India boundary. For many years, the Chinese border troops have been patrolling and on duty in this region.
2. Since April, the Indian border troops have unilaterally and continuously built roads, bridges and other facilities at the LAC in Galwan Valley. China lodged representations and protests on multiple occasions but India went even further to cross the LAC and made provocations.
3. On May 6, Indian border troops crossed LAC, trespassed into China’s territory, built fortification & barricades, which impeded the patrol of Chinese border troops. They deliberately made provocations in an attempt to unilaterally change the status quo of control & management.
4. The Chinese border troops were compelled to take necessary measures to respond to the situation on the ground and strengthen management & control in the border areas. To ease the situation, China and India stayed in close communication through military and diplomatic channels.
5. In response to the strong demand of the Chinese side, India agreed to withdraw the personnel who crossed the LAC and demolish the facilities, and so they did.
6. On June 6, the border troops held a commander-level meeting & agreed to ease the situation. India promised it would not cross the estuary of Galwan river to patrol & build facilities. The two sides would discuss & decide phased withdrawal of troops by officials on the ground.
7. Shockingly, on the evening of June 15, India’s front-line troops, in violation of the agreement reached at the commander-level meeting, once again crossed the Line of Actual Control for deliberate provocation when the situation in the Galwan Valley was already easing.
8. India’s front-line troops even violently attacked the Chinese officers and soldiers who went there for negotiation, thus triggering fierce physical conflicts and causing casualties. This is the step-by-step account of the Galwan clash.
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