New Delhi: The Chinese Army (China) is now lagging behind after nearly a year of tension on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh. This is said to be India’s big strategic victory. Meanwhile, the Northern Army Commander of the Indian Army, Lieutenant General YK Joshi has reacted to this India-China issue. He has clearly said that India has avoided war with China. Both countries were on the verge of war.
In a special conversation with a news channel, Northern Army Commander Lt Gen YK Joshi said, “There have been many ups and downs during the ongoing tension with China in eastern Ladakh for almost 9 months. But India-China came close to the war on 31 August last year. This happened when India had set foot on the mountains of Kailash Range on August 29 and 30. It was strategically strong. China was upset by this sudden step taken by India. Chinese army started operations against India for this.
Northern Army Commander Lt Gen YK Joshi said, “The Galvan incident had taken place and the red line had been drawn.” We were completely free to execute the campaign in our own way. The moment you see the enemy trying to come up, this is what my tank man, gunner, rocket launcher were all seeing, the easiest thing for him was what he is trained to do at the time. Pull the trigger. No courage is needed for this. But the most difficult thing for courage is not to open firing, not to pull the trigger. Therefore, we should be very clear that there was a time when the war was actually averted. We were at the mouth, we were on the verge of war.
On 31 August 2020, when the Chinese army wanted to take over the Kailash range, the situation became very tense. During the interview, the Northern Army commander also assessed the deaths on the Chinese side. He told this number about 45. This is the first time the army has discussed the death toll of Chinese soldiers.
He said, ‘I am not giving any number. But recently the Russian agency TAS TASS has reported the number of dead Chinese soldiers at 45. I think this is the number we should look at. It can also be more.
