CHINA UNDER PRESSURE TO DISCLOSE FATALITIES
Chinese commanding officer was among those killed in clash
As the haze is beginning to clear on the Ladakh standoff, it has emerged that a Chinese commanding officer was among those killed in the June 15 clash.
This confirmation came even as India and China resumed Lieutenant General-level talks at Moldo on the Chinese side of Chushul on the disengagement process.
This is the first admission from China of any casualty, a week after the clash in which 20 Indian soldiers were killed. Army sources have said 45 Chinese soldiers were also killed or injured. However, Beijing has not put out any casualty figure so far.
LESS THAN 20: The Global Times, the mouthpiece of the Chinese Community Party regime in Beijing, in a report quoting "Chinese experts" on Monday, however, said that "the reason why China did not release the number" of its casualties, is that it "wants to avoid an escalation." "If China released the number, which is less than 20, the Indian government would again come under pressure," the Global Times tweeted, quoting an "observer.’’ These "analysts" and "observers" have accused Indian officials of placating nationalists by "making speculations on China's casualties to satisfy Indian hardliners, such as speculating that China lost more soldiers than India."
Media reports emanating suggest that on micro-blogging site Weibo, which is China's own Twitter, Chinese citizens are sharing Indian images, news articles and videos linked to the Galwan valley clash. This is because neither the Chinese state-controlled media nor the government have tried to put the Ladakh standoff in public domain. But for the last few days Chinese netizens are demanding transparency regarding PLA casualties or injuries. They are in fact appreciating India for keeping its public duly informed.
What has added to the confusion on the Chinese side is that PLA soldiers are strictly banned from divulging any information to family or friends. This seems to have resulted in a lot of uncertainty with regards to their whereabouts and well-being, a report on Indian Today’s news portal said.
Union Minister and former Indian Army chief Gen V K Singh's raised the issue on Saturday and remarked that "If we lost 20 soldiers, more than double the number were killed on their [Chinese] side". But even on Monday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian was not forthcoming and merely responded by saying it has no information to release on the issue.
TALKS RESUME: The ongoing Moldo discussions are the second between the two Corps Commanders after June 6, when they had agreed to disengage at multiple locations and India had asked them to go back to pre-May 4 military positions along the LAC.
The Chinese have not responded to the Indian proposal and have not even shown any intent either on the ground to withdraw its troops from rear positions where they have amassed over 10,000 troops.