India-China
PM Narendra Modi to visit China for first time since 2020 Galwan conflict
Indian PM Narendra Modi will visit China later this month, his first trip to the neighbouring nation since the 2020 Galwan clash, media reports said.
Ahead of visiting China, Modi will also travel to Japan on August 30.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to visit Tianjin, China, to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit from August 31 to September 1, reported India Today.
Before attending the SCO summit, PM Modi is scheduled to visit Japan on August 30, where he will participate in the annual India-Japan Summit with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. From there, he will head to China, sources told the Indian news channel.
Trump factor
Modi will be visiting China at a time when US President Donald Trump imposed a 25 percent tariff and a penalty on imports from India.
The US President went ahead to even threaten to increase the tariff owing to New Delhi's oil imports from Russia, which is engaged in a war with Ukraine.
Hitting back at the White House, India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) cleared it will take all necessary steps to safeguard its "national interests and economic security".
India accused the US and European Union jointly for its alleged double standards citing how both Washington and EU are engaged in trade and imports from Moscow.
Galwan Clash
The Galwan skirmish erupted from a dispute over a temporary bridge built by the Chinese in the Galwan River valley in Ladakh.
On June 15, 2020, Indian and Chinese troops engaged in a six-hour clash in the rugged terrain of Ladakh, engaging in hand-to-hand combat with makeshift weapons such as stones, batons, and iron rods.
The face-off occurred in near-complete darkness and freezing temperatures, leading to fatalities as soldiers fell or were pushed from ridges.
Twenty Indian soldiers were martyred in the clash, while China officially acknowledged four casualties, although reports indicate higher Chinese losses, as soldiers drowned in the choppy waters of the Galwan River.
Among the Indians, Colonel B Santosh Babu, the Commanding Officer of the 16th Bihar Regiment, was martyred during the unprovoked aggression by PLA troops.
The Galwan clashes highlighted China's aggressive stance towards its neighbouring countries.
Many observers on social media noted similarities between the Chinese attack on Philippine navy ships and the 2020 Galwan Valley clash.
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