- By Kamal Kumar
- Wed, 17 Jan 2024 07:02 AM (IST)
- Source:JND
Citations for gallantry awards given to Indian Army personnel in a recently held award ceremony shed light on two previously undisclosed clashes between Indian and Chinese troops along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). These citations came to light during an investiture ceremony by the Army's Western Command last week. The citations accessed by news agency PTI on Western Command's YouTube channel narrated the befitting responses given by Indian Army personnel to China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) along the LAC.
The revelations came to the fore after the Army's Western Command headquartered in Chandimandir, shared a video of the gallantary award ceremony on its YouTube channel, however, it was deactivated on Monday. According to the details given in the citations, the clashes took place between September 2021 and November 2022.
Indian Army has not responded on the matter as of now, reported PTI.
In June 2020, soldiers of the Indian Army and Chinese PLA engaged in violent clashes after the latter tried to transgress the Indian boundary. Since then, the Indian Army has been maintaining a very high level of combat readiness along the LAC.
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Over the past three and a half years since the start of the eastern Ladakh border dispute in May 2020, there have been many clashes along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) involving Indian and Chinese troops. The Tawang sector of the LAC also witnessed Chinese troop attempts at transgression.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, addressing Parliament four days after an incident on December 9, 2022, reported that PLA troops tried to breach the LAC in the Yangtse area of the Tawang Sector, altering the status quo unilaterally. Singh had asserted that Indian troops effectively countered the Chinese attempt with firm resolve.
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Sources reveal that several members of the Indian Army, part of the team that staunchly responded to the attempted Chinese transgression, were honoured with gallantry awards at the recent investiture ceremony.
"The ensuing face-off led to a physical scuffle in which the Indian Army bravely prevented the PLA from transgressing into our territory and compelled them to return to their posts," Singh said on December 13 that year.
The scuffle led to injuries to a few personnel on both sides, he said.
"I would like to assure this House that our forces are committed to protecting our territorial integrity and will continue to thwart any attempt made on it. I am confident that this entire House will stand united in supporting our soldiers in their brave effort," Singh said.
