'Fake News': China dismisses reports of losing 40 soldiers in Ladakh
Beijing : China on Tuesday dismissed news reports claiming that the nation has lost around 40 soldiers in violent face-off with Indian soldiers at Galwan Valley in Ladakh on June 15.
While denying the claims made, Chinese foreign ministry said that Indian and Chinese militaries have met on June 22 to resolve the ongoing tensions with talks.
"China and India are in dialogue, in talks with each other to resolve this issue through diplomatic and military channels," ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said.
"As for what you saw in the media, for example, some people alleged that casualties on the Chinese side amounted to 40, I can tell you for sure that this is fake news," Zhao said responding to a specific question on the PLA’s casualty numbers.
20 Indian soldiers were martyred in the violent clash; China has not yet disclosed any number on the casualties from their end.
Union minister Gen VK Singh (retd) had indicated over the weekend that China could have suffered double the number of casualties in comparison to India numbers.
When asked about Monday’s meeting, Zhao said: “On June 22, the border troops of China and India held the second military-level meeting in the border area, which was also the first military-level meeting after the incident of the Galwan Valley on June 15.
Speaking at the regular ministry briefing, Zhao added that the “…holding of this meeting showed that the two sides hope to resolve differences through dialogue and consultation, control the situation, and ease the situation.”
“During the meeting, based on the consensus of the first military-level meeting, the two sides exchanged frank and in-depth views on the outstanding issues in the current border control, and agreed to take necessary measures to promote the cooling of the situation,” spokesperson Zhao said.
“The two sides also agreed to maintain dialogue and jointly work together to promote peace and tranquility in the border areas,” he added.
When asked about details of the disengagement, Zhao said: “The specific measures are under discussion between the border troops of the two sides. I have no other information to release on this.”
