Galwan Valley: India had officially announced that 20 soldiers were killed. (File)
China lost 42 soldiers in the June 2020 Galwan Valley clash, at least nine times more than the four it has acknowledged, a report quoted by Australian newspaper "The Klaxon" has said. The report is by a group of social media researchers.
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At least 38 soldiers were killed while attempting to cross the fast-flowing Galwan River in the early stages of the June 15-16 clash, says the report prepared after a year-long investigation. The soldiers were crossing the river in sub-zero temperatures and in darkness.
Of the four soldiers China confirmed had died, only one - Junior Sergeant Wang Zhuoran- reportedly drowned, the investigative newspaper said, citing the report titled "Galwan Decoded".
The report cited "several Weibo users" and said, "at least 38 PLA (People's Liberation Army) troops along with Wang were washed away and drowned that night...of which only Wang was declared among the four officially dead soldiers".
"Comrades in arms kept slipping and being rushed downstream," the report said, adding, "After the incident, the bodies of the soldiers were first taken to Shiquanhe Martyr Cemetery, followed by local ceremonies at the local towns of the killed soldiers."
It quoted a Weibo user (Qiang) as claiming to have served in the area. The user claimed that the Chinese army was creating infrastructure in the buffer zone, violating the mutual agreement and had been trying to expand its patrolling limits within the buffer zone since April 2020.
"PLA did not adhere to its promise...and instead of dismantling its own infrastructure as agreed upon, secretly dismantled the river crossing bridge constructed by the Indian army," said the report.
Beijing went to "extreme lengths to silence discussion about the battle" and in particular, any "discussion about the true number Chinese casualties''.
The Klaxon cites the report as saying that a division of the Xinjiang Miltary Region "organized officers and soldiers to go to the Shiquane Martyr Cemetary to lay flowers to the revolutionary martyrs, organize party members to take an oath and sweep the tombs for heroes".
The investigation involved "discussions with mainland Chinese bloggers, information obtained from mainland-based Chinese citizens and media reports that have since been deleted by Chinese authorities.''
India had officially announced that 20 soldiers were killed in action in the clashes that were the deadliest since the 1962 war.
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