A video circulating widely on social media, claiming to show Chinese soldiers being beaten and captured by the Indian Army during an ongoing standoff along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), has been flagged as "unverified" by the official fact-checking unit of the Indian Armed Forces. The video surfaced on social media more than a month after Indian and Chinese sides shared one of the memorable moments during Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to New Delhi for the BRICS Summit. The visit was termed as the most significant in the geopolitical arena as the two leaders shared warm moments nearly more than five years after Galwan clash.
Indian Army fact checks viral video
According to a fact-check alert issued by the Indian Army’s fact-checking account, the footage has not been authenticated and is being falsely presented as a recent confrontation between Indian and Chinese troops.
"Several social media accounts are circulating an unverified video with the claim-- many Chinese soldiers beaten and captured by Indian Army at LAC during ongoing standoff. The footage is unauthenticated and is being falsely projected as a recent confrontation, leading to rumours and confusion about the ground situation at the LAC," according to the fact-checking unit of the Indian Army.
The alert cautioned that such claims could trigger rumours and create confusion about the situation along the LAC. It also highlighted that old mobile-phone videos have previously been circulated online as footage of fresh incidents, potentially giving a misleading impression of developments along the border.
The Indian Army has urged citizens not to circulate unverified videos and advised them to rely on official sources for information about the situation along the LAC.
The advisory comes amid the continued circulation of potentially misleading content on social media concerning India-China border developments. "Viewers are advised to verify the source and authenticity of such footage before sharing it," it added.
Why does the video create a storm on social media?
The video has been circulating on social media days after ITBP Director General Shatrujeet Kapoor admitted that skirmishes with China continue at the border and that in the past few days a situation arose "where a face-off happened at several locations in Arunachal, and it still continues".
This created a political storm in India, where the Congress has accused the saffron party of hiding facts from the countrymen when a strategic location of the nation has allegedly been under continuous threat.
The Congress on Friday attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the reported "face-offs" with the Chinese army in Arunachal Pradesh, asking him to take the nation and Parliament into confidence by making a comprehensive statement on the border situation. The opposition party accused Modi of being a "coward" for not raising border issues with China during his meetings with the Chinese President and said India's interests can not be allowed to be surrendered.
MEA downplays incident
Meanwhile, the Ministry of External Affairs on Friday said the situation along the LAC gets disturbed from time-to-time when Chinese forces diverge from established patrolling patterns, asserting that maintenance of peace and tranquillity in the border areas is essential for the overall development of bilateral relations.
"As we have noted in the past, the situation in the India-China border areas gets disturbed from time-to-time when Chinese forces diverge from established patrolling patterns," MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said at his bi-weekly media briefing. "Both sides continue to use existing diplomatic and military mechanisms to resolve outstanding issues and avoid misunderstanding and miscalculation along the LAC," he said.
Jaiswal said the two sides have also agreed to discuss ways to improve understanding of LAC in appropriate areas for better border management. "I would also like to emphasise that the maintenance of peace and tranquillity in the border areas is essential for the overall development of bilateral relations," he added.
(With inputs from agency)