“The situation throughout LAC is tense, with strong deployments on both sides. But it’s like a powder keg in eastern Ladakh, ”said a senior official.
With thousands of rival troops, tanks, armored vehicles and howitzers lined up with each other, the army chief General MM Naravane visited the Chushul sector in eastern Ladakh on Thursday.
General Naravane took stock of the situation with the head of the Northern Command, Lieutenant General YK Joshi and the commander of the 14th Corps, Lieutenant General Harinder Singh, among others. He will also visit some other advanced areas north of the region on Friday morning before heading back to New Delhi.
In a parallel development that underscores the elevated tensions along the 3,488 km Royal Line of Control (LAC) from Ladakh to Arunachal pradeshIAF Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria visited frontline air bases in the eastern sector, including Hashimara, to review military readiness on Wednesday.
Distrustful of any inadvertent incidents that will cause things to spiral out of control, both India and China keep the military lines of communication open. The meeting between rival brigade members at the Chushul-Moldo border personnel meeting point was held for the fourth day in a row on Thursday. The meeting, however, was again inconclusive.
China is furious at the way India carried out the military maneuver to occupy multiple heights near the southern shore of Pangong Tso, Spanggur Gap, Rezang La, and Reqin La (Renchin mountain pass) at altitudes of over 15,000 feet. from August 29 to 30.
“The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) was taken by surprise. It has moved additional forces in front of the Chushul sector in a show of force. But we are well entrenched and well prepared there, as in other parts of eastern Ladakh, ”said another official.
The PLA Moldo military garrison, as well as a crucial road leading to the southern bank of Pangong Tso, are now clearly in the line of sight of the Indian soldiers on the Chushul Heights, largely unoccupied since the war of 1962 due to overlapping claims from the LAC in the area.
“But now it can’t be as usual,” said the officer. The proactive move represents a distinct shift in India’s operational stance against China’s salami-cutting strategy throughout the disputed FTA.
It has effectively prevented the PLA from re-presenting the Indian army with a fait accompli, as it did when occupying the 8 km stretch from ‘Finger-4 to 8’ (mountain spurs) on the north shore of Pangong Tso, much to the concern of India in early May.
“Chinese soldiers gained a tactical advantage in the ‘Finger’ area. They have steadfastly refused to retreat east to their permanent Sirijap locations beyond Finger-8. Now, they face a tit-for-tat situation in the area south of Pangong Tso, ”the officer said.
It is also a lever for China to shed its continued intransigence during multiple rounds of diplomatic and military talks to advance the stalled troop withdrawal on the north shore of the Pangong Tso and Gogra-Hot Springs areas, as well as the de-escalation in the Depsang-Daulat Beg Oldie Sector.
.
