Sovereignty of Galwan valley area has always belonged to China: Foreign Ministry Spokesperson

Beijing: Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson on Wednesday said that the Sovereignty of Galwan valley area has always belonged to China.

We ask India to strictly discipline its frontline troops, stop infringing and provocative activity at once, work with China and come back to the right track of resolving the differences through dialogue and talk, he said.

His remarks comes following the violent face-off between Indian and Chinese troops at Galwan Valley on Monday night. China has accused Indian troops of crossing the border line twice on Monday, “provoking and attacking Chinese personnel, resulting in a serious physical confrontation between border forces on the two sides.

The Indian Army on Tuesday said 20 Army personnel, including a colonel, were killed in the confrontation while Chinese Army suffered 35 casualties sources said citing US intelligence reports.

Monday’s clash was the biggest confrontation between the two militaries after their 1967 clashes in Nathu La in 1967 when India lost around 80 soldiers while over 300 Chinese army personnel were killed in the confrontation.

The External Affairs Ministry on Tuesday said the violent face-off between armies of India and China in eastern Ladakh was the result of an attempt by the Chinese side to unilaterally change the status quo in the region.

The ministry said both sides suffered casualties that could have been avoided had the agreement arrived earlier at the higher level been scrupulously followed by the Chinese side.