Ajay banerjee
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, September 9
When Indian and Chinese troops clashed in the Galwan Valley on June 15, the Army was quick to estimate that such incidents could reoccur and modified standard operating procedures (SOPs) and rules of engagement for its soldiers throughout. the Line of Real Control (LAC). in Ladakh.
Indian troops were allowed to fire in self-defense and have carried automatic weapons ever since. The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has also armed its soldiers. The number of soldiers looking both ways across the LAC is small, but the backing is in the thousands, apart from tanks and artillery guns.
This was not so in Galwan. The team led by Colonel Santosh Babu, who had gone to survey a Chinese store, was unarmed, while the PLA soldiers had arrived armed with clubs and makeshift machetes, sparking a bloodbath. Since Galwan, things have blown up twice: once on August 30-31 and again on September 7 in southern Pangong Tso.
The Army has denied having opened fire on PLA soldiers on September 7 and accused the other side of firing. The PLA claims it was done by the Indian army.
While both sides deny having opened fire, it is certain that shots were fired, the first such incident in Ladakh since 1962. On 7 September, the PLA tried to capture Mukhpari, but was rejected. On August 30, another operation was launched from the Indian side to capture all the heights from Thakung to southern Rinchen La, thwarting the Chinese attempt to take them over.
Post Galwan, rules of engagement altered
- The army modified standard operating procedures and rules of engagement for soldiers throughout LAC in Ladakh after June 15.
- Brigadier-level talks were held in Chushul on Wednesday. It was agreed to plan another Lieutenant General meeting
- Sources say that two sides may consider implementing on the ground what defense ministers had discussed in Moscow on September 4.
- With the foreign ministers scheduled to hold talks in Moscow on September 10, some progress is expected.
