China honours five soldiers for Galwan clashes

NEW DELHI: For the first time, China on Friday honoured its four People's Liberation Army soldiers killed and one injured during clashes with Indian Army troops at Galwan Valley, said Chinese State media.

The China Global Television Network (CGTN), Chinese state media, claimed that five PLA soldiers were honoured with honorary title and first-class merit citation.

It stated that four Chinese soldiers, who were killed during a border confrontation in June 2020, were posthumously awarded honorary titles and first-class merit citations, the Central Military Commission (CMC) announced on Friday.

The CMC unveiled names and stories of the martyrs for the first time to commemorate their sacrifice for defending national sovereignty and territory, the state media said.

"Chen Hongjun was awarded the honorary title of "hero" for defending national territory. Chen Xiangrong, Xiao Siyuan and Wang Zhuoran were awarded first-class merit citations," it stated.

Qi Fabao, a colonel who led the soldiers, was seriously injured during the clashes. "Qi was conferred with the honorary title of hero colonel," it stated.

This comes when Indian Army Commander Lieutenant General Y.C. Joshi quoted a Russia agency which claimed that 45 Chinese PLA soldiers were killed on June 15, 2020.

India had lost 20 soldiers during the clash and China never declared the numbers of its soldiers killed.

Meanwhile, in an exclusive interview to CNN-News18, Lt Gen YK Joshi, the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Army's Northern Command, said that while India cannot put a finger on the number of Chinese fatalities, Russian agency TASS reported that 45 PLA soldiers lost their lives in the fight. (IANS)

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