Where is Galwan Valley?

• The valley refers to the land that sits between steep mountains that buffet the Galwan River.
• The river has its source in Aksai Chin, on China’s side of the LAC, and it flows east to Ladakh, where it meets the Shyok river on India’s side of the LAC.
• The valley is strategically located between Ladakh in the west and Aksai Chin in the east, which is currently controlled by China as part of its Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.
• At its western end are the Shyok river and the Darbuk-Shyok-Daulet Beg Oldie (DSDBO) road.
• Its eastern mouth lies not far from China’s vital Xinjiang Tibet road, now called the G219 highway.

Where does the Line of Actual Control lie?

• The Line of Actual Control (LAC) is the disputed boundary between India and China.
• The LAC is divided into three sectors: western, middle and eastern.
• The LAC lies east of the confluence of the Galwan and Shyok rivers in the valley, up to which both India and China have been patrolling in recent years.
• After the June 15 clash, however, China has claimed the entire valley lies on its side of the LAC.
• Since early May, China has been objecting to India’s road construction activities at the western end of the valley, in the area between the Galwan-Shyok confluence and the LAC.