NEW DELHI: India accelerated the order of a dozen specialized services patrol boats, with advanced surveillance equipment and other equipment, to patrol Pangong Lake amid the ongoing military for more than eight months confrontation with China in eastern Ladakh.
The Army signed the contract for around Rs 65 million for the 12 new patrol boats, with spare parts and maintenance for four years, with the PSU Goa Shipyard defense shipyard on Thursday. “Ship deliveries will start from May this year. They will be deployed in Pangong Tso (Tso means lake), which is currently frozen, ”said an official.
The order for the ships is one more indicator that the armed forces are preparing for the long-term confrontation with China. Indian and Chinese troops are currently caught up in what is virtually a face-to-face confrontation both in the north and the 134 km long southern bank of the Pangong Tso, two-thirds of which is controlled by China as it stretches from Tibet India.
The Army has 17 QRT (rapid reaction team) ships to patrol the Pangong Tso, which is at an altitude of 13,900 feet, from 2012-2013. But the need was felt to further increase its capabilities to match the heavier Type-928B patrol boats used by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) there, as TOI previously reported.
Both Indian and Chinese soldiers actively patrol their Pangong Tso areas on foot and by boat during the summer months. Before the Army acquired the QRT ships about eight years ago, it used to be quite paralyzed by its slow-moving outdated ships. The PLA used to even disable the Indian ships by ramming against them with their heavier ships.
Since the beginning of May last year, the PLA has physically occupied the entire 8 km stretch from ‘Finger-4 to Finger-8’ (mountain spurs) on the north shore of Pangong Tso, seized control of the heights and built dozens of new fortifications, bunkers and pillboxes in the area.
After being surprised by the PLA on the north bank of Pangong Tso, the Indian troops carried out a proactive military maneuver to occupy the ridge line that runs from Thakung on the south bank to Gurung Hill, Spanggur Gap, Magar Hill. , Mukhpari, Rezang La and Reqin La (Rechin mountain pass) from August 29 to 30.
These six to seven heights make it possible for Indian troops to monitor the PLA garrison, positions, and roads in Moldo, and have served as an “effective back pressure point” for influence in the talks between the two countries.
China has been insisting that Indian troops should first withdraw from these heights on the southern shore of the Pangong Tso-Chushul area. India, in turn, has been demanding that any proposed withdrawal must start from the “Finger area” on the north shore of Pangong Tso.
The deadlock in the talks has yet to be broken, with more than 50,000 troops from both sides continuing to deploy along the border despite low temperatures and a lack of oxygen in the high-altitude zone. “The ninth round of corps commander-level talks is likely to take place in the next few days, but restoring the status quo as it existed in April remains paramount for us,” said one official.
The eighth military round on November 6 had raised hopes of a de-escalation, as India and China generally agreed to a mutual pullback of troops, tanks and howitzers from “sticking points” in the Pangong Tso-Chushul area. But the exact modalities and sequence of steps, along with a joint verification mechanism, have not been finalized since, as TOI previously reported.
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