“China used an electromagnetic weapon to literally melt Indian soldiers,” US Senator Bill Hagerty has claimed, alleging that Beijing deployed the weapon during a border dispute with India five years ago. The Republican senator from Tennessee suggested the incident may have been linked to the 2020 Galwan Valley clash, though he stopped short of directly naming it.
“China and India have a long history of grievances and distrust. Barely five years ago, China and India were fighting over a disputed border, and China used an electromagnetic weapon to literally melt Indian soldiers,” the senator claimed.
The bizarre allegation came barely two weeks after Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the SCO Summit in Tianjin earlier this month, raising alarm bells in Washington.
Former US President Donald Trump also remarked that the US had “lost India to darkest China,” before backtracking and calling New Delhi an important partner.
Hagerty, with his remarks, was trying to highlight how international relations change from time to time. India and China have been trying to rebuild ties after US President Donald Trump slapped high tariffs. Trump last month announced a 50 per cent tariff on goods from India, including a 25 per cent penalty for buying Russian oil.
What happened in Galwan
The India-China relationship plunged to its lowest point in six decades with a military stand-off along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in May 2020.
It marked the first deadly clash between the two sides on the disputed border in 45 years, dealing a severe blow to bilateral ties.
On June 15, a violent seven-hour confrontation left 20 Indian soldiers, including a commanding officer, dead. While Beijing initially admitted to casualties without specifying numbers, reports suggested that Chinese losses may have been more than double those of India.
Where do India-US ties stand?
Amid recent strains in India-US relations over the 50 per cent tariff imposed by President Donald Trump on Indian goods — a move that doubled the levy in response to New Delhi’s purchases of Russian oil — the past week has seen a shift in tone.
Trump sought to ease tensions by assuring that he would “always be friends” with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a sentiment the Indian leader said he “fully reciprocated.”
Also read: PM Modi-President Trump cut through noise to push trade deal
Earlier this week, Trump announced that his administration would continue talks with India to resolve the “trade barriers” between the two countries, adding that he looked forward to speaking with his “very good friend” PM Modi in the coming weeks.
