Fact Check: Fake news claims China used microwave weapons to 'cook' Indian soldiers during stand-off
Several international news claimed that the Chinese army used "microwave weapons" to "cook" Indian troops forcing......
By Satya Priya BN Published on 25 Nov 2020 11:13 AM GMT
Hyderabad: Several international news claimed that the Chinese army used "microwave weapons" to "cook" Indian troops forcing them to retreat during the standoff that took place earlier this year. According to the reports, a professor of international relations at Beijing's Renmin University, Jin Canrong, mentioned this in his recent lecture. He claimed that the weapon was deployed to bypass a treaty banning the use of firearms across the border.
Microwave weapons use beams of high-frequency electromagnetic radiation to heat the water in a human target's skin, causing pain and discomfort. The professor said, "We didn't publicise it because we solved the problem beautifully. They (India) didn't publicise it, either, because they lost so miserably."
These reports have gone viral on social media.
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Fact Check:
The claims made by the Chinese professor about the use of microwave weapons during a standoff between Indian and Chinese forces are FALSE.
The Indian Army, on Wednesday, dismissed reports that said that China had used microwave weapons in eastern Ladakh as "fake" and "baseless" with a senior officer terming it part of the psychological operation from across the border.
"Media articles on the employment of microwave weapons in Eastern Ladakh is baseless. The news is FAKE," the Indian Army said in a tweet.
This claim has also been debunked by PIB that said some international news portals have published misleading headlines and reported baseless claims related to the Indo-China border stand-off in Ladakh.
According to the report published in The Times of India on 18 November 2020, a senior Army officer said it was a fake and ludicrous claim. The PLA does not seem to have recovered from the shock of our troops occupying multiple Kailash range heights on the south bank of Pangong Tso-Chushul on 29 and 30 August, he said.
According to the reports, microwave weapons are electromagnetic weapons and are called so because they have a similar effect like an oven. The weapon works by heating the water molecules under the skin to painful temperatures, forcing people out of the area. The weapon, also used for crowd control, can be used to target up to 0.6 miles away. China had first put on display its microwave weapon, called Poly WB-1, at an air show in 2014. Besides China, the United States has also developed microwave-style weapons called the Active Denial System.
Here is a video published by Zee News about the working mechanism of microwave-based weapons.
Several other news outlets have also published this report.
Hence, the claim that China used microwave weapons against the Indian Army during a stand-off in Ladakh is FALSE.
