Team News Riveting
India honouring its Galwan brave hearts forced China to announce awards for its soldiers subsequently admitting the casualties in the border clash.
China on Friday admitted for the first time that the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) lost four of its soldiers in the Galwan Valley clash with India in June last year near the LAC.
According to a report by state-controlled People’s Daily, “Four Chinese soldiers, who were sacrificed in last June’s border conflict, were posthumously awarded honorary titles and first-class merit citations, Central Military Commission announced Friday. A colonel, who led them and seriously injured, was conferred with an honorary title.”
The paper added that the Central Military Commission awarded Qi Fabao, the regimental commander from the PLA Xinjiang Military Command, the title of “Heroic regimental commander for defending the border,” Chen Hongjun with “Hero to defend the border,” and awarded the first-class merit to Chen Xiangrong, Xiao Siyuan and Wang Zhuoran.
The sudden decision of Chinese authorities to award the soldiers killed had come as a surprise. India had recognised its brave soldiers who sacrificed their lives for the motherland and honoured them posthumously. China did not even reveal the names of the soldiers who died or sustained injuries in the clash that deeply hurt the sentiments of family members.
How India forced China to admit and award its lost soldiers could be gauged by its reaction when Indian soldiers were awarded. Already feeling the heat from the family members, India’s respect for its soldiers came as a big shock for China. “India slammed for awarding perished soldiers amid latest China-India military talks,” was how China’s state-owned newspaper reported.
Within a month, China decided to reveal the names of the soldiers as it had to award them following suit.
