Media reports of China using microwave weapons in Eastern Ladakh fake: Army

New Delhi: The Indian Army on Tuesday dismissed reports on the employment of microwave weapon by China in eastern Ladakh, calling it 'fake' news.

"Media articles on employment of microwave weapons in Eastern Ladakh are baseless. The news is FAKE," the Indian Army said in a tweet.

A leading UK daily earlier reported that China’s People's Liberation Army used microwave weapon on Indian troops deployed at two strategic hilltops in eastern Ladakh.

The use of weapon turned the hilltops "into a microwave oven", forcing Indian soldiers to retreat and allowing the positions to be retaken by the Chinese without an exchange of conventional fire, The Times reported.

The report was based on claims made by Jin Canrong, a professor of international relations at Beijing-based Renmin University.

The professor said during a lecture that the use of the weapon helped the PLA adhere to no-live-shot rule while dealing with Indian soldiers at the standoff point. “The microwave attack was said to have taken place on August 29,” he stated.

As per a February 2019 report in en.people.cn, China was working on a non-lethal weapon system based on microwave radar technology.

The chief engineer of the project, surnamed Su, was quoted as saying that Microwave Active Denial System works by shooting millimetre microwaves at targets, which can cause the pain nerve under the skin to ache in a bid to effectively halt the objective's violent actions and disperse targets.

According to a 2008 New Scientist report, microwaves can heat body tissues, "causing a shockwave inside the skull that can be detected by the ears".

The revelation has come on the back of reports that during the ongoing military and diplomatic talks to resolve the months-long border dispute, India and China have reached a not-yet-signed verbal agreement on disengagement along the Line of Actual Control, starting from Pangong Tso (lake).

It was reported that as part of the disengagement plan reached, whose timeline was yet to be finalised, China would retreat to Finger 8 on the north bank of Pangong lake while India would go back to its position which existed pre-April/May.

The two sides would then engage on the southern bank of the Pangong Tso before the disengagement moves to Depsang.

However, the Chinese state media has denied any such understanding on disengagement along the LAC.