Stop exaggerating, India tells China in a midnight rebuttal

New Delhi, June 18: India reacted sharply to the Chinese Foreign Ministry claiming Galwan Valley and asserted that this was an exaggerated and untenable claim. New Delhi also reminded Beijing about the phone conversation between the two foreign ministers, who had agreed that the situation must be handled in a responsible manner.

The two ministers also agreed that the understanding reached by the two military commanders on June 6 must be implemented sincerely.

External Affairs Ministry spokesperson, Anurag Srivastava in a midnight rebuttal said that making exaggerated and untenable claims is contrary to the understanding.

Colonel Zhang Shuili, the spokesperson for the People's Liberation Army's Western Theatre Command was the first to claim Galwan Valley within hours of the Indian Army confirming that soldiers of the two armies had clashes. The officer had accused Indian soldiers of crossing the line, but he also insisted that China always own sovereignty over the Galwan Valley region.

This statement by the Chinese officer was read out by the Chinese Foreign Ministry during its daily briefing. The midnight rebuttal by India was to set the record straight since the Chinese Foreign Ministry had only vetted the PLA version.

On Monday night a violent clash broke out between the two armies at Galwan Valley in which 20 Indian soldiers were martyred and 76 more wounded. There have been claims that 43 Chinese soldiers were also killed. The US intelligence however claimed that 35 Chinese soldiers had died.