India Releases Video of Brawl with Chinese Troops at Border... "Suspected Intentional Leak"

Indian Army Appears to Secure Victory
Video Suddenly Spreads Since the 9th

[Image source=Twitter]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] Shortly after Indian and Chinese soldiers engaged in a brawl in the border area on the 9th, Indian media outlets have successively released videos of clashes between the two countries' troops from last September. The videos, which end with the Indian army driving out the Chinese troops, have raised suspicions that the Indian military deliberately circulated them.

On the 15th (local time), Indian media such as NDTV reported repeatedly on videos of clashes between Indian and Chinese soldiers from last September, citing videos spread through social networking services (SNS). In the videos, soldiers from both countries wielded clubs and iron pipes in hand-to-hand combat, ending with the Chinese troops retreating and the Indian soldiers cheering.

It is unclear when the videos were recorded or who spread them on SNS, but they began circulating after the clash between Indian and Chinese troops in the Tawang area of Arunachal Pradesh on the 9th. This area was also the site of a clash between Indian and Chinese troops on September 28 of last year.

CNN pointed out doubts about the timing of the video release. The videos suddenly started spreading after the Indian Ministry of Defense officially acknowledged the clash that occurred on the 9th. Ian Hall, Deputy Director of the Griffith Asia Institute (GAI) in Australia, explained, "The videos seem to show India's victory," adding, "I think they were released to reinforce the Indian government's claim that it is firmly defending the border." There is speculation that Indian authorities intentionally leaked the videos.

Meanwhile, India and China fought a war over border issues in 1962 but have not finalized the border line, continuing to face off along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). The two countries' militaries engaged in a 73-day standoff in Doklam, north of Sikkim in northeastern India, in 2017, and clashed heavily in the disputed Ladakh region in northern India in 2020. In May 2020, at Pangong Lake in Ladakh, and in June in the Galwan Valley, the two armies fought brawls resulting in dozens of deaths.

Since then, the two militaries clashed again in the Sikkim border area in January last year, with Indian media reporting dozens of injuries on both sides, but the Chinese government continues to deny these reports.