Four Chinese military officers and soldiers were killed in last year’s Galwan Valley clash in eastern Ladakh with the Indian Army, China officially acknowledged for the first time on Friday as it gave honorary titles and first-class merit citations to the deceased.
The People’s Liberation Army (PLA), official newspaper of the Chinese military, announced posthumous gallantry citations for four soldiers, including the regimental commander, for their actions.
According to a report in Reuters, Chen Hongjun, Chen Xiangrong, Xiao Siyuan and Wang Zhuoran died during what Chinese state media described as a “fierce struggle” against “foreign troops” that violated an agreement and crossed into the Chinese side.
The development comes more than nine months after China refused to disclose details of casualties in the bloodied fight with India.
India posthumously honoured five soldiers who blocked the PLA aggression with gallantry medals on Republic Day this year.
On June 15 last year, 20 soldiers of the Indian armed forces were killed in a clash with Chinese forces along the disputed border in Ladakh, making them the first fatalities on what is known as the Line of Actual Control in 45 years.
The troops were killed in close-quarter combat in the Galwan Valley as more than a month-long hostilities along the border went into a full-blown conflict. The Indian Army said both sides suffered casualties but Beijing then did not confirm any deaths.