Earlier today, China revealed that four of its People’s Liberation Army soldiers died during a bloody battle with Indian troops on the heavily disputed Himalayan border. The incident occurred in June of 2020 and consisted of hand-to-hand combat between the two countries, with each blaming the other for the casualties. The event is the deadliest reported border clash between the neighbors in more than 40 years, with India reporting at least 20 casualties.
The clash occurred in the Galwan Valley region of the Himalayas. The Chinese soldiers who died in battle were Chen Hongjun, Chen Xiangrong, Xiao Siyuan, and Wang Zhuoran. Hongjun was a battalion commander, according to China’s official army newspaper. The men have all received posthumous awards. A fifth soldier was seriously injured in the clash, the regimental commander from the People’s Liberation Army Xinjiang Military Command. The PLA has not revealed the other soldiers’ ranks. How the bloody conflict began is still up in the air. Both sides report drastically different stories but have since somewhat reconciled and withdrawn some troops from the region.
Read More: 4 Chinese soldiers died in bloody India border clash last year, China reveals