India skipping Beijing Winter Olympics opening, angered by China’s torch-bearer
- Foreign affairs spokesman Arindam Bagchi said it was ‘regrettable that the Chinese side has chosen to politicise an event like the Olympics’
- Qi Fabao, a regiment commander for the People’s Liberation Army, was among the troops present during the 2020 clash in the Galwan Valley
India will not attend Friday’s opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics, after one of the torch-bearers reportedly chosen by Chinese authorities drew New Delhi’s ire.
India’s foreign affairs spokesman Arindam Bagchi on Thursday said it was “regrettable that the Chinese side has chosen to politicise an event like the Olympics”.
The move followed reports in China’s state-owned Global Times that a Chinese military commander, who was involved in deadly clashes with Indian border forces in 2020, had been chosen as one of many torch-bearers charged with relaying the Olympics flame to Beijing.
The 2020 fighting erupted along the disputed border with China in eastern Ladakh. Chinese troops killed 20 Indian soldiers, while China said it lost four soldiers.
The spokesman added that the Indian embassy in Beijing would also not send a representative to the closing ceremonies.
Qi Fabao, a regiment commander for the People’s Liberation Army, was among the troops present in 2020 during the high-altitude clash in the Galwan Valley, which is disputed between the world’s two most populous nations.
