Old photo allegedly related to the 2020 Galwan clash shared now in the context of the recent India-China scuffle in the Tawang sector - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
December 15, 2022
A photo is being shared on social media claiming it is a recent picture showing Indian army soldiers being captured by the Chinese troops. Sharing the photo, this post claims that China once again killed over 300 Indian soldiers during the scuffle at the Tawang sector. In the context of the recent physical scuffle between Indian and Chinese soldiers across LAC near the Tawang sector in Arunachal Pradesh, this photo is going viral on social media. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: Recent picture that shows Indian soldiers being captured by the Chinese troops in the Tawang sector.
Fact: The photo shared in the post allegedly shows Indian soldiers who were captured by Chinese troops during the Galwan clash in 2020. Several Chinese news websites and journalists released these pictures a year after the clash in 2021. The photo shared in the post is old and has nothing to do with the recent India-China troops clash at the LAC Tawang sector of Arunachal Pradesh. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
On reverse image search of the photo shared in the post, the same photo was found tweeted by a Chinese journalist Shen Shiwei on 07 November 2021. Sharing a couple of photos in the tweet, the Chinese journalist said, “New pictures of last June’s #Galwan clash emerged on social media, showing surrendered Indian soldiers captured by Chinese PLA.”
🚨New pictures of last June's #Galwan clash emerged on social media, showing surrendered Indian soldiers captured by Chinese PLA.
Indian soldiers violated newly-reached consensus and launched provocative attacks against Chinese personnel, leading to serious physical conflicts. pic.twitter.com/8oZO9D4noL
When we searched for further sources, we found several Chinese news articles publishing the same photo and reporting it as the picture of surrendered Indian troops during the 2020 India-China scuffle at the Galwan valley. A few of those articles can be see here and here. While it can be concluded that the posted photo is old, we could not independently  verify the authenticity of those old photos.
Briefing the details of the recent India-China scuffle at the Tawang sector in Arunachal Pradesh, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in the Parliament said, “On 09 December 2022, PLA troops tried to transgress the LAC in Yangtse area of Tawang Sector and unilaterally change the status quo. The Chinese attempt was contested by our troops in a firm and resolute manner. The ensuing face-off led to a physical scuffle in which the Indian Army bravely prevented the PLA from transgressing into our territory and compelled them to return to their posts. The scuffle led to injuries to a few personnel on both sides. I wish to share with this House that there are no fatalities or serious casualties on our side.” In a recent statement, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wendin said, “current border situation between China and India is generally stable and both sides have maintained unimpeded communication on border-related issues through diplomatic and military channels”.
To sum it up, an old photo allegedly related to the 2020 Galwan clash was shared in the context of the recent India-China scuffle in the Tawang sector.