Old picture of coffins falsely linked to Tawang clash
Social Media users are sharing a photo of coffins draped in the Chinese flag. Users claim that these are the coffins of Chinese troops killed during the recent India-China clash in Tawang.
By Md Mahfooz Alam Published on 17 Dec 2022 6:14 AM GMT
Hyderabad: Social Media users are sharing a photo of coffins draped in the Chinese flag. Users claim that these are the coffins of Chinese troops killed during the recent India-China clash in Tawang, Arunachal Pradesh.
A Twitter user shared the photo and wrote, "INDIA & CHINESE TROOPS CLASH IN TAWANG SECTOR, More than 50 Chinese soldiers injured, 20 Chinese troops eliminated as per Chinese social media Weiboā¦"
Fact Check
NewsMeter performed a reverse image search and found the photo in a report published by chinanews.com in 2010. It said that the photo shows the coffins of 15 martyrs who died in a bush fire in Daofu county, Sichuan province. The deceased were kept in Kangding Gymnasium for the public to carry out mourning activities.
We also found the photo in a report published by another Chinese website in 2010. It said, on 9 December 2010, a memorial conference was organized for the martyrs in Kangding, which was attended by more than 700 people, including officers and soldiers of the army, local people, and representatives of the martyrs' families.
Finally, we ran a keyword search and found several news reports from December 2010 about a massive grassland fire in Tibet's Sichuan province. The report also said that 22 people, including 15 soldiers, two workers with the grassland administration, and five other local civilians were killed during the rescue operation. (See the reports by India Today, South China Morning Post and Reuters.)
On 13 December, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh told parliament that on 9 December 2022, the PLA troops tried to change the status quo in the Yangtse area of the Tawang sector. However, their attempt was foiled by Indin troops. He also categorically mentioned that there were no fatalities or serious casualties to Indian troops, but the physical scuffle led to injuries to a few personnel on both sides
It is evident that the photo of the deceased Chinese soldiers dates back to 2010. Hence the claim that the photo shows the Chinese troops killed during the recent India-China clash in Tawang, Arunachal Pradesh, is misleading.
Earlier, the same photo was viral with the false claim that it showed the Chinese soldiers who were killed during the India-China clash in Galwan in 2020. Read the fact-check here.
