As the standoff between India and China continues for the 26th day, a major flare-up erupted between the two countries on Twitter as videos of soldiers from both sides assaulting each other at the border started doing the rounds.
It started with an undated video showing Indian soldiers at Pangong Tso in Ladakh wreaking havoc on a Chinese light armoured vehicle going viral. The Indian patrol, a mix of Army and ITBP jawans, is seen hurling stones and using rods to try and break the bullet proof glass window panes.
All this as a bleeding Chinese soldier was lying on the ground and was being comforted by an Indian soldier.
Although the Indian Army quickly rejected the video purportedly showing clashes between Chinese and Indian troops in eastern Ladakh, it did not stop Chinese twitter handles close to the PLA from tweeting images and clips of badly beaten up and bleeding Indian soldiers.
Some of them were lying on the ground while others seemed unconscious. Their hands and legs were bound with ropes. The blue boat visible in the pictures suggested the location was Pangong Tso. Soon enough, Pakistani twitter handles also began tweeting in support of the Chinese troops.
The Indian Army spokesperson Colonel Aman Anand said the contents of the video were not authenticated. “Attempts to link it to the situation in Ladakh are mala fide. No violence is happening," he said.
The Army has also requested the media not to air the visuals that are "likely to vitiate the current situation on the borders".
Troops of India and China were engaged in a major standoff for over three weeks in Pangong Tso, Galwan Valley, Demchok and Daulat Beg Oldie in eastern Ladakh, in what is turning out to be the biggest confrontation between the two countries after the Doklam episode in 2017.
Defence minister Rajnath Singh, in an interview to a TV news channel, said the situation in eastern Ladakh is not the usual patrol skirmish that happens because of a difference of perception of the LAC between the two countries. He said “the situation is different this time".
Reports from Eastern Ladakh and Satellite imagery indicate that Chinese troops have intruded into what India believes is its territory in Galwan and Pangong Tso.
The troop build-up from both sides is massive and includes tanks and heavy artillery guns. Both China and India have said that military and diplomatic-level talks are on to resolve the standoff.
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