A video is viral on social media with the claim that it shows Indian army men celebrating after the country trespassed into Chinese territory. “Big News: India has entered 4 kms into China. Indian army jawans celebrating. (बड़ी खबर: भारत #चीन के 4 किलोमीटर अन्दर तक घुस चुका है। जश्न मनाते #भारतीय_सेना के जवान),” reads the caption in Hindi.
चीन में चार कि.मी.अन्दर घुसी भारतीय सेना, जश्न मनाते सैनिक दिखे
बड़ी खबर: भारत #चीन के 4 किलोमीटर अन्दर तक घुस चुका है। जश्न मनाते #भारतीय_सेना के जवान।
●1962 में हारे रेकिन माउंटेन पास व हुनान पोस्ट 57 साल बाद #भारत के कब्जे में।
#जयहिन्द ॥ #जयभारत ॥ #जयमहाभारतPosted by मैं अदृश्य हूँ फिर भी साक्षी हूँ on Tuesday, 1 September 2020
The video has been shared in the backdrop of India-China tensions which aggravated after 20 Indian army soldiers were killed in a deadly face-off in Galwan valley on June 15. The death toll on the Chinese side remains unknown.
Twitter user @Real_Deepika_ also promoted the video with identical claim.
#चीन के 4 किलोमीटर अन्दर तक घुसने के बाद खुशी मनाते #भारतीय_सेना के जवान। 💪🇮🇳🙏
सन् 1962 में हारे रेकीन माउंटेन और हुनान कोस्ट 57 साल बाद भारतीय सैनिकों ने वापस लिया और तिरंगा लहराया।🇮🇳🇮🇳🇮🇳
🇮🇳 #जयहिंद 🇮🇳🇮🇳 #जयभारत 🇮🇳
🇮🇳🇮🇳🇮🇳 #वन्देमातरम 🇮🇳🇮🇳🇮🇳
🇮🇳🇮🇳#भारत_माता_की_जय🇮🇳🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/OoLCepgikz— दीपिका रस्तोगी (@Real_Deepika_) September 2, 2020
Fact-check
A reverse image search of the video’s keyframes led us to the same clip uploaded by Facebook page ‘བོད་ཀྱི་འཕྲིན་ལམ། Tibet Channel’ on August 27. The accompanying caption stated, “Tibetan Army dance.”
Tibetan Army dance
Posted by བོད་ཀྱི་འཕྲིན་ལམ། Tibet Channel on Wednesday, 26 August 2020
A close look at the video shows the men holding the Tibetan flag.
It is noteworthy that after the Galwan clashes in June, reports of fresh cross-border skirmish emerged on August 29-30. According to The Indian Express, “While there have been reports about SFF being involved in the August 29-31 operation to occupy previously unoccupied heights in Chushul sector in eastern Ladakh, the Army has so far maintained an official silence.” The SFF or the Special Frontier Force is a covert Indian unit comprising mostly of Tibetans in India.
In a press release on August 31, the Indian Defense Ministry stated that People’s Liberation Army (PLA) troops violated the previous consensus amid the ongoing standoff in Eastern Ladakh. “Indian troops pre-empted this PLA activity on the Southern Bank of Pangong Tso Lake, undertook measures to strengthen our positions and thwart Chinese intentions to unilaterally change facts on ground,” said the ministry.
On September 8, China accused India of illegally crossing the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Eastern Ladakh and firing warning shots at Chinese border personnel. The Indian army has dismissed the allegations. “At no stage has the Indian Army transgressed across the LAC or resorted to use of any aggressive means, including firing,” read a press release by Ministry of External Affairs.
The viral video predates both the August 29-30 clashes and the skirmish on September 7. Tensions between both nations are ongoing. But we were unable to locate any credible media reports stating that the Indian army trespassed 4 km into Chinese territory. An old video of most likely SFF soldiers is thus viral with the false claim
Video viral with false claim
The clip was also shared with a Tamil caption by Facebook page ‘இந்திய இராணுவச் செய்திகள் (Tamil Defense)’ drawing over 5,700 likes.
#விகாஸ்
#SFF கம்பெனி லீடர் நிய்மா டென்சிங் அவர்களின் திருவுடல் முழு இராணுவ மரியாதையுடன் அடக்கம் செய்யப்பட்டது.
Posted by இந்திய இராணுவச் செய்திகள் on Sunday, 6 September 2020
The video is widely circulating on both Facebook and Twitter.
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