China suffered 'far fewer' casualties than India in June clash: Global Times editor

(Reuters) - China suffered "far fewer" than the 20 deaths incurred by India's military in a clash on their border in the Himalayas in June, the Global Times editor-in-chief said in a tweet, contradicting a claim made by India's defence minister.

"No Chinese soldiers was captured by Indian troops, but PLA captured many Indian soldiers that day," Hu Xijin said in the tweet https://twitter.com/HuXijin_GT/status/1306622885050478592, referring to China's People's Liberation Army (PLA).

The Global Times is published by the People's Daily, the official newspaper of China's ruling Communist Party.

The tweet was accompanied by a screenshot, stamped 'fake news', of an Indian media report about defence minister Rajnath Singh saying India inflicted heavy casualties on Chinese forces during the fighting.

The June clash in the Ladakh region, in the western part of their border, was the worst violence between the nuclear-armed neighbours in decades. China has not released casualty figures for its troops.

"They (Indian troops) also sent a very strong message by imposing heavy casualties on the Chinese PLA," Singh was quoted as saying in the Indian parliament on Tuesday in the report https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/india-inflicted-heavy-casualties-on-chinese-forces-during-galwan-clash-rajnath-singh-in-lok-sabha/story-LCN5YDRaKWCzYgXLYcMBmN.html.

(Reporting by Sabahatjahan Contractor in Bengaluru; Editing by Mark Potter)