Speaking to a select group of diplomats at the Chinese foreign ministry on Wednesday afternoon, He Xiangqi, deputy director general of boundary and ocean affairs, said the “…casualties on the Chinese side were not very heavy”. She added the reason for not revealing the casualty numbers is because Beijing does not want to stir up sentiments. “Exact casualties were not publicised as China did not want the media to play it up. Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said Tuesday that reports claiming more than 40 PLA troops died was “fake news”. The US, European countries and Australia were among the countries not invited to the briefing, which lasted for about 20 minutes.

Source: Hindustan Times June 24, 2020 14:29 UTC