Fact-check: Indian Army didn't lose Ladakh hilltop to China; PLA's use of microwave weapons baseless

China's propaganda continues to spread fake news about the country's standoff against Indian Army in Ladakh. Now, a British daily "The Times" reported that China gained strategic hilltop positions by using microwave weapons, forcing Indian soldiers to retreat.

The claim

The international daily report cited Jin Canrong, a professor of international relations at Beijing-based Renmin University, as saying during a lecture that China's PLA was able to use microwave weapons to turn two strategic hilltops into a "microwave oven." This reportedly forced the Indian Army to retreat, giving the Chinese access to these vantage positions without any conventional fire exchange between the armies in Eastern Ladakh, The Times reported.

The India-China standoff along the Line of Actual Control has been in a stalemate since May. Despite efforts of peace talks in the region, there hasn't been any success.

Fact-check

Microwave weapons can shoot targets, which causes pain nerve under the skin to ache. This system was designed to render enemies defenseless. But the recent report by The Times about the weapon being used by China in eastern Ladakh is baseless and stands no ground.

Firstly, the publication cited only the Beijing professor without any corroboration or acknowledgment from any authoritative sources. Moreover, there's no clarity on how the professor came to access such sensitive information, clearly giving hints that it was a faint attempt of propaganda.

Following the reports, India's Press Information Bureau refuted the report. "Some international news portals have published misleading headlines and reported baseless claims related to India-China border stand-off in Ladakh," the Press Information Bureau said in a tweet.

Additionally, ADGPI [Additional Directorate General of Public Information] has clarified that no such incident has taken place. "Media articles on employment of microwave weapons in Eastern Ladakh are baseless. The news is FAKE."

Based on this, IBTimes has arrived at the conclusion that the reports about China gaining strategic hilltops position by using microwave weapons are fake and baseless.