China has given its version of the border clash with India in the Galwan Valley and said none of the responsibility lies with them but rather the Indian side violated and crossed the disputed border. Addressing a press briefing in Beijing, China’s Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian said that the incident in the Galwan Valley of the China-India border has received much attention. However, he said the merits of what happened are very clear and none of the responsibility lies with China. The spokesperson said that Indian border troops crossed the line first as the boundary in the western sector of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) is clear and the Galwan Valley lies on the Chinese side. “The Chinese border troops, who have all along been patrolling the area, know very well the situation of management and control on the ground. Since April this year, the Indian side has been building roads and bridges at and across the LAC in the Galwan Valley, unilaterally changing the status quo. China has lodged representations on multiple occasions,” said the spokesperson. Border skirmishes between China and India began on May 5 in the Galwan Valley in Ladakh, followed by another in the Nakula pass in India’s northeastern Sikkim province three days later. Monday’s violent confrontation was the first time since 1975 that China and India engaged in a military clash along the LAC, which is 4,056 kilometers (2,520 miles) long and traverses through the union territory of Ladakh and four Indian states – Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim, and Arunachal Pradesh. On the Chinese side, the line crosses the Tibet Autonomous Region. Border tensions between the two countries have existed for over seven decades, as China claims territory in India’s northeast and New Delhi accuses Beijing of occupying its territory in Aksai Chin plateau, including part of the Ladakh region in Jammu and Kashmir.