China for first time discloses names of soldiers killed in Galwan Valley clash

New Delhi, Feb 19: China has for the first time named four Chinese soldiers who died during a clash with Indian troops at the Galwan Valley in Eastern Ladakh in June last year.

"Chen Hongjun, Chen Xiangrong, Xiao Siyuan and Wang Zhuoran died a fierce struggle" against "foreign troops" that violated an agreement and crossed into the Chinese side, Reuters reported citing Chinese media reports. Chen was posthumously awarded the title of "Guardian of the Frontier Hero," while the other three men were also given first-class merit citations, a report in the Reuters said.

Last month, the names of 20 Indian Army personnel, who were killed while valiantly fighting Chinese troops in Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh in June last year, were inscribed on the National War Memorial ahead of the Republic Day, official sources said.

Col B Santosh Babu, the commanding officer of the 16 Bihar regiment, was among the Indian soldiers who laid down their lives in the fierce hand-to-hand combat on June 15, an incident that marked one of the most serious military conflicts between the two sides in decades.

The Chinese soldiers used stones, nail-studded sticks, iron rods and clubs in carrying out brutal attacks on Indian soldiers after they protested the erection of a surveillance post by China around patrolling point 14 in Galwan Valley.