China names bridges along Tibet-Xinjiang highway after soldiers who died in Galwan Valley clash
Parts of these bridges run through disputed territory.
China on Friday said it had named 11 bridges along its key Tibet-Xinjiang highway, parts of which run through Aksai Chin, after four Chinese soldiers who were killed in the June 2020 Galwan Valley clash, state-run The Global Times reported.
Aksai Chin is a disputed territory controlled by China, which India says is part of Ladakh.
The routes were named to commemorate the soldiers, who have “become the epitome of Chinese people’s ever-growing patriotic sentiment”, the newspaper added.
The bridges are named after the four soldiers, Chen Xiangrong, Xiao Siyuan, Wang Zhuoran and Chen Hongjun, The Hindu reported.
India and China have been locked in a border standoff since their troops clashed in Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh in June 2020. Twenty Indian soldiers were killed in the clash. China had put the number of casualties on its side at four.
The two sides have held 16 rounds of commander-level talks to resolve the dispute. In the last such meeting in July, both the countries had agreed to maintain stability on the ground and resolve the problems along the Line of Actual Control in the Western Sector of the India-China border areas.
On September 14, media reports said that Indian and Chinese armies have completely withdrawn their troops from Patrolling Point 15 in the Gogra-Hot Springs, a key standoff point in eastern Ladakh.