Chinese spokesperson claims Indian troops violated protocols, attacked Chinese troops

India and China have held another round of military-level talks, following the fierce clash in the Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh on Monday night. China has claimed sovereignty over the region, that India trashed as exaggerated and untenable. "They deliberately made provocations in an attempt to unilaterally change the status quo of control and management", said Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson. China’s People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) western command had in a statement issued on Tuesday initially raised the issue, saying: “The sovereignty of the Galwan River Valley has always been ours.”

On Thursday, external affairs ministry spokesperson Anurag Srivastava had dismissed the PLA’s claim as “exaggerated and untenable”.On Monday night, Indian and Chinese troops were involved in a seven-hour violent face-off in Galwan Valley that left 20 Indian soldiers dead and at least 76 injured. Another 10 Indian soldiers held by the Chinese side were released on Thursday. Zhao contended Indian troops crossed the LAC by night and trespassed into China’s territory on May 6 and then “built fortification and barricades, which impeded the patrol of Chinese border troops”.The clash in Galwan Valley is the biggest confrontation between the two militaries after their 1967 clashes in Nathu La when India lost around 80 soldiers while the death toll on the Chinese side was over 300.