Srinagar: The Chinese military’s statement on the violent clash in eastern Ladakh has a claim that China has not made directly for decades – sovereignty over entire the Galwan valley.

Both the Chinese foreign ministry and army asserted that Indian troops had provoked the violence by crossing over to their territory, but the latter explicitly cited China’s claims.

“The sovereignty of the Galwan valley area has always belonged to China. The Indian border troops flip-flopped and seriously violated our border protocols on border-related issues and the consensus of our commander level talks: Zhao Lijian, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Colonel Zhang Shiuli wrote on a twitter.

Earlier twenty Indian Army soldiers including an army colonel were killed during a violent face-off between Indian and Chinese troops at the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh’s Galwan Valley last night.

It was reported that one Indian Army officer and two soldiers were also killed and three to four Chinese troops were killed in the face-off.