MUMBAI (INDIA) – China lost at least 40 soldiers in a clash with India on the disputed border this week, said a federal government minister, as the two nations remained locked in confrontation on the frontline on Sunday.
China has not disclosed anything about any losses in the hand-to-hand combat in the contested Galwan Valley in the western Himalayas, in which 20 Indian soldiers were killed and at least 76 injured.
“If 20 were martyred on our (Indian) side, then there would have been at least double the casualties on their (China) side,” V K Singh, the minister for roads and transport, told TV News24 late on Saturday.
Singh, who is a former army chief, did not provide any evidence to support his statement. He said China historically never accepted any war casualties, including in the 1962 conflict with India.
China’s state controlled Global Times said earlier there had been casualties on the Chinese side but did not elaborate.
The minister said the Indian side had handed over Chinese troops who had strayed into Indian territory after the face-off.
India’s defence ministry spokesman Bharat Bhushan Babu refused to comment on Singh’s interview.
The two countries on Saturday blamed each other for violating the de facto border.
Along the poorly defined Line of Actual Control, troops remain locked in a face-off at several locations, despite talks between local commanders to de-escalate.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has criticised China for escalating border tensions with India.
(Photos syndicated via Reuters)
This story has been edited by BH staff and is published from a syndicated field