Chinese government planned Galwan valley clashes with India, key panel tells US Congress

USCC (United States-China Economic and Security Review Commission) in its report to US Congress said that the Chinese government had planned the incident in the Galwan Valley, potentially including the possibility for fatalities.

In its 587 page report, the panel has covered various aspects with regards to Security and Economic issues between China and the United States. Formed in the year 2000, USCC provides recommendations to US Congress for actions on China. 

In its report, the US panel maintained that In June 2020, the PLA and Indian troops engaged in a massive physical brawl in the Galwan Valley, located in the far-western Ladakh region along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) separating the two countries. “The clash, which followed a series of standoffs begin- ning in early May along with multiple sectors of the LAC, led to at least 20 Indian deaths and an unconfirmed number of Chinese casualties, the first time since 1975 that lives were lost in fighting between the two sides.

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According to Dr Tanvi Madan, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institute who delivered an oral testimony for the USCC commission, if China’s goal from its actions was “to acquire territory... [the Chinese government] might deem the moves a success.”If Beijing intended to dissuade In- dia from building infrastructure on its side of the LAC or warn it against aligning with the United States, however, “then the Chinese moves have been ineffective, if not counterproductive.” “Some evidence suggested the Chinese government had planned the incident, potentially including the possibility for fatalities”, the panel said in its report to US Congress. 

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It also marks mention that actions by the Chinese side were hinting towards these deadly clashes, weeks before the violent clashes happened at Galwan. “For instance, several weeks prior to the clash Defense Minister Wei made his statement encouraging Beijing to “use fighting to promote stability.”

The report added that just over two weeks before the incident, in another potential indication of Chinese leaders signaling 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.”297 Satellite images depicted a large Chinese buildup in the Galwan Valley, including potentially 1,000 PLA soldiers, the week before the deadly skirmish.

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