The Liberation Army Daily, the mouthpiece of the Communist Party’s military commission, reported on February 19 that the border troops of the Chinese Army (PLA) had scored a major victory in the “border defense struggle to safeguard the country’s territorial sovereignty” by resolutely countering illegal border crossing, infringement and provocation.
The report highlighted the emergence of advanced examples in the struggle, such as Qi Fabao, the “hero of defending the border”, Chen Hongjun, the “hero of defending the border” and Chen Xiangrong, Xiao Siyuan and Wang Zhuoran.
According to Chinese state media Xinhuanet, Chen Hongjun, Chen Xiangrong, and Xiao Siyuan were killed in the struggle, while Wang Zhuoran died when rescuing his teammates while crossing the river to reinforce the frontier troops.
Among them, Qi Fabao was the commander of a border defense regiment and was seriously injured in the conflict; the dead Chen Hongjun was the battalion commander of a mobile infantry battalion, and the dead Chen Xiangrong, Xiao Siyuan, and Wang Zhuoran were soldiers.
In June 2020, serious bloody clashes broke out between Chinese and Indian armies in the Galwan Valley on the western front. This brings the death toll to four on the Chinese side, while at least 20 on the Indian side were confirmed dead.
The People’s Liberation Army Daily urged the army to “learn from the soldiers’ loyalty in obeying the Party’s command and orders, their commitment to the mission of daring to fight, being good at fighting and determined to win, and their fighting spirit of being brave and tenacious and fearless to face death”.
“We will not allow any force to infringe on China’s territory and sovereignty,” the report stressed. “If such a serious situation occurs, we will give it a crushing blow.”
Xinhuanet revealed that in April 2020, Indian troops violated the agreement by building roads, bridges and other facilities across the border in the Galwan River Valley area, provoking trouble, trying to unilaterally change the status quo of the border, and even violently attacking PLA officers and soldiers who went to the present place to intervene.
The report said that when the situation was beyond endurance, the PLA resolutely fought back against the violent acts, achieved a major victory and effectively defended national sovereignty and territorial integrity.
According to the report, Chen wrote in a battle record that “faced with the foreign troops, who were far outnumbered, not only did none of us retreat, but we also pushed them out against the stone attack.”
Faced with the Indian army’s cross-line nuisance, Chen Xiangrong, who went to deal with it urgently, replied “the mission is incumbent” when faced with the question “are you afraid to go to the front line?”
According to the report, in June 2020, the Indian army broke the consensus reached with the Chinese Army by crossing the line and setting up tents. Qi, with only a few officers and soldiers, wade across the river in accordance with the agreement. However, the Indian army concealed and mobilized a large number of troops, trying to make the People’s Liberation Army retreat by virtue of its large numbers.
Chen Hongyu, the chief of staff, later said, “Their people emerged from behind the cliff one after another and crowded the riverbank in the dark.” ” Although we have few people, we can not retreat even if we are desperate!” At that time, Qi Fabao shouted at the Indian troops, “You will bear all the consequences if you break the consensus.”
During the conflict, the Indian troops used steel pipes, sticks and stones to attack Qi, who was the commander of the regiment. Later, Chen Hongjun led his men to rescue Qi, and the reinforcements “drove the Indian army away and achieved a major victory. The Indian army was defeated and fled, leaving behind a large number of troops beyond the line, including casualties, paying a heavy price.”
Qi’s left frontal bone was fractured and the wound was more than 10 centimeters long, the report said. When Wang Zhuoran was crossing the river, one foot was stuck in the crevice of the boulder, and he pushed three teammates ashore before his death.