Evidence suggests China planned Galwan clash: US govt report

The deadly clash between Indian and Chinese personnel in Galwan in Ladakh in June rocked ties between the two nations. Now, a report by a prominent US Congressional commission suggests that the clash at Galwan, which left 20 Indian jawans dead, could have been premeditated by China.

The U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission is a body created by the US Congress in 2000 that has the "legislative mandate to monitor, investigate, and submit to Congress an annual report on the national security implications of the bilateral trade and economic relationship" between the two countries. The 2020 report was released on Tuesday.

The reference to China's ties with India appears in Chapter 3 of the report that covers "security, politics and foreign affairs". The USCC report notes, "In 2020, Sino-Indian relations suffered their worst year in decades. In June, Chinese and Indian soldiers engaged in a deadly clash on their border, the first confrontation since 1975 that resulted in loss of life on either side." Referring to the clash in Galwan, the USCC report notes, "Some evidence suggested the Chinese government had planned the incident, potentially including the possibility for fatalities." China suffered an unknown number of fatalities during the clash in Galwan.

The report cites instances in support of its argument: "... several weeks prior to the clash Defense Minister Wei made his statement encouraging Beijing to ‘use fighting to promote stability’. Just over two weeks before the incident, in another potential indication of Chinese leaders signalling their intent to escalate tensions, an editorial in China’s state-owned tabloid Global Times warned that India would suffer a 'devastating blow' to its trade and economic ties with China if it got involved in the U.S.-China rivalry. Satellite images depicted a large Chinese buildup in the Galwan Valley, including potentially 1,000 PLA soldiers, the week before the deadly skirmish."

The USCC report notes that there has been an uptick in altercations on the Line of Actual Control after Xi Jinping assumed power as China's president in 2012.

USCC notes that the exact motivation behind China's aggression on the Line of Actual Control remains unclear. "The exact motivations behind the Chinese government’s provocative behaviour on the LAC this year remain unclear. The proximate cause of the clash appeared to be India’s construction of a strategic access road to support troops stationed along the LAC. China has also built extensive infrastructure along the LAC in recent years. In the aftermath of the clash, Beijing asserted sovereignty over the entire Galwan Valley, a new claim and significant change to the territorial status quo," the report states.