India-China faceoff: No Indian soldiers missing, says BJP

Three days after a violent clash in Galwan Valley area in Ladakh, Chinese military freed 10 Indian Army personnel, including four officers. While it did not mention the release, the statement was a clear indication that the soldiers have returned.

Hyderabad: A day after Indian Army claimed that no Army personnel went missing after the Galwan clashes, BJP too reiterated the same statement on Friday.

The Army had issued a statement on Thursday clarifying that no Indian troops are missing in action. While it did not mention the release of any Army personnel from PLA's captivity, the statement was a clear indication that the soldiers have returned.

Speaking to ETV Bharat in this regard, BJP national spokesperson, Sudesh Verma said, "The Indian Army has confirmed that there are no missing soldiers then we have no reasons to doubt on it and it was clarified earlier by the government. The Chinese side has also clarified that there are no Indian troops missing in action."

"The announcement by the Ministry of External Affairs said that no soldiers were missing in action was made only after it was ascertained through diplomatic channels that China would be releasing them. Both sides have held several rounds of talks at diplomatic and military levels to ease tensions and are now looking to soon have a dialogue on the border affairs," Verma said.

"The clash came amidst a “de-escalation” process that was started last week after a month-long stand-off between troops at the LAC in Ladakh. Both sides have held several rounds of talks at diplomatic and military levels to ease tensions. Indian and Chinese militaries are holding a Major General-level dialogue for the third consecutive day on disengagement of troops as well as to restore normalcy in areas around the Galwan Valley. We are strongly committed to ensuring India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, " he said.

"The clash in Galwan Valley is the biggest confrontation between the two militaries after their 1967 clashes in Nathu La when India fought bravely and killed Chinese soldiers. So we have to trust our Ministry's information regarding this matter," he added.

India-China faceoff: No Indian soldiers missing, says BJP

As many as 20 Indian Army soldiers, including the commanding officer—Colonel B Santosh Babu who himself was part of most delegations of the earlier ongoing military talks with the PLA—died in the incident while scores are believed to have been injured, some even critically. PLA casualties are not known.

Meanwhile, deployments on both sides are continuing to the frontlines or to proximate positions behind the frontline.