A misleading video of Indian and Chinese troops challenging each other and clashing in the Pangong Lake area of Ladakh has been doing rounds on Social Media since 31st May 2020, though in a statement Indian Army has made it clear that the contents of the undated video is not authenticated.
We at News Sense received the 2-minutes-and-45-seconds video, with the request to find out the authenticity from many of our readers, so we started our investigation.
The video shows Indian and Chinese soldiers are challenging each other, there is also a sight of Dongfeng 4×4 vehicle too. The soldiers can be seen hitting the windows of the vehicle with rods and stones and the windows of the vehicle clearly appear bulletproof, as they do not break. One soldier can be seen lying down injured, but his identity is not ascertained.
The Indian security personnel are seen not carrying any weapons. It is important to note that ITBP and the Army jointly patrol along the Line of Actual Control.
CLARIFICATION
As the matter is sensitive, we tried our official sources in the Ministry of Defence, Government of India. According Indian Army released a Statement saying the video is not authenticated. The statement reads:
“It has been brought to our notice that a video is doing the rounds in social media on an incident on the borders. The contents of video being circulated are not authenticated. Attempt to link it with the situation on the Northern borders is malafide. Currently no violence is happening. Differences are being addressed through interaction between military commanders, guided by established protocols on management of borders between the two countries”.
It further adds, “We strongly condemn attempts to sensationalise issues impacting national security. The media is requested not to air visuals that are likely to vitiate the current situation on the borders.”
CONCLUSION
It has been reported in various media, that on 10th May 2020, there was a clash between Indian and Chinese troops on the banks of the Pangong Lake on 5 May in which several soldiers from both sides were injured.
The sudden move first came from the Chinese who attacked Indian personnel with sticks and stones. Indian soldiers also retaliated and hit back. Since then the situation in eastern Ladakh has been tense with China building up troops at various locations on their side of the LAC even as they transgressed in the Finger Area as well as larger Hot Springs area.
The Indian Army has demanded that the earlier status quo be maintained by China at the LAC. Army Chief General Manoj Naravane in a statement last week said, “Temporary and short duration face-offs between the border guarding troops do occur along the LAC due to the differing perceptions of the alignment of boundaries, which are not resolved. Development of infrastructure capabilities along our Northern borders is on track”.
In March this year, Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence has informed that the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) has completed 75% of the construction work on the 61 Indo-China Border Roads (ICBRs), which covers the length 3323.57 km. Out of these, 12 roads, covering around 1064 km, are in the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, while three roads, covering around 62 km, are in Sikkim.
NB: Don’t share or forward any misleading information on your social media platforms including Facebook, Twitter, and WhatsApp, by doing so you are also becoming someone, who is creating panic and confusion among the larger mass and this is a punishable offense.
