China terms reports of 40 PLA troops killed in Galwan clash as 'fake news'

Beijing: China on Tuesday broke its silence over its casualties in the June 15 clash between Indian and Chinese troops while terming as sure “fake news” reports that more than 40 Chinese soldiers were killed in the face-off in eastern Ladakh.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian, who repeatedly parried questions on the casualties suffered by the People’s Liberation Army since the incident occurred, reacted to the remarks of former army chief and Minister for Roads and Transport Gen (retd.) V K Singh who said, “if we lost 20 soldiers, more than double the number were killed on their [Chinese] side”.

Asked for his reaction on Tuesday at the media briefing, Zhao said. “China and India are in dialogue and talks with each other to resolve this issue through diplomatic and military channels”.

“As for what you saw in the media, for example, some people alleged that casualties on the Chinese amounted to 40. I can tell you for sure this is fake news,” he said, without giving any further details.

This is the first time China has commented on the casualties. Though China has not revealed its casualty figure, there were reports that a commanding officer of the Chinese army was among those killed in the clashes. There is no official confirmation about it.

Ever since the clash on June 15 at the Galwan Valley between the Indian and Chinese troops, Beijing has consistently declined to reveal the details of the casualties on its side, while the official media editorials have said that China too suffered casualties.