Suspected Chinese soldiers rush up a hill and Indian soldiers throw rocks to stop them. (Image source: video clip)
In the midst of an ongoing standoff between Chinese and Indian forces at the border, a video of a suspected Chinese military retaking a high ground from Indian forces was released on September 9, attracting a large number of mainland netizens for discussion. In the film, which involves more than a hundred soldiers, Chinese soldiers hold contradictory, long sticks heavy on the high ground, while the suspected Indian soldiers throw stones to block the attack, and eventually fail to defeat the soldiers who attacked and withdrew from the stronghold.
The video, titled “Successful Seizure of Hill 5104,” was circulated and was about 20 seconds long. At the beginning of the footage, about a hundred suspected Chinese soldiers are seen shouting, holding shields and sticks as they force their way up the hill, while dozens of suspected Indian soldiers at the top of the hill throw rocks to stop them. As the Chinese military approached the top of the hill, the Indian soldiers “fought and retreated”.
Afterwards, the Chinese military surges up the hill and occupies the slope. At 13 seconds into the clip, we can see that it is shot from high to low, dozens of suspected Indians are leaving, and cheers are heard from behind the camera. No one on either side is seen using firearms during the entire process.
The video does not mention the location and time of the conflict. A mainland netizen from the military clothing speculated that the incident may have occurred this summer, the location or the north shore of Ban Gong Lake F4 ridge 5104 high ground.
At present, the Chinese and Indian officials have not responded to the incident, and have not confirmed the authenticity of the video.
Friction along the border between China and India has been ongoing since May of this year, and in June the deadliest clash in decades erupted in the Galwan Valley, killing at least 20 Indian troops. The Chinese have yet to release casualty figures. There are rumors of more than 40 casualties on the Chinese side.
In the aftermath of the incident, the two countries deployed tens of thousands of troops in the conflict zone, supported by artillery, tanks, and fighter jets.
By the end of August, India’s Ministry of Defense disclosed that the Chinese had entered the area under Indian jurisdiction on the southern shore of Lake Bangong fault in the Ladakh region on August 29 and 30 in an “attempt to change the status quo” against the consensus of the two sides, but ultimately failed. The Chinese acknowledged the setback, but refused to release details of the armed conflict.
By early September, the Chinese accused the Indians of “firing their guns” at the border, while the Indians criticized the Chinese for crying foul and misleading the outside world. This is also the first time in 45 years of the Sino-Indian ceasefire agreement that fire has been opened.
As of early November, China and India have held eight rounds of talks at the military commander level, but neither has ended the standoff between the two armies, nor has a date been set for the next round of talks.
India’s Economic Times reported on August 8 that it has about 50,000 troops deployed in the snowy highlands of Eastern Ladakh in a state of high readiness. The Chinese Communist Party military has also deployed a commensurate number of troops in the area.
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