NEW DELHI: In a further escalation of the ongoing military confrontation in eastern Ladakh since early May, new clashes broke out between Indian and Chinese troops on the southern bank of the Pangong Tso during the middle night of Saturday and Sunday.
There was no immediate official word on whether there were casualties in the latest clashes, and a brigade commander-level flag meeting was held in Chushul on Monday morning between the two armies to resolve the issue.
“The Los Angeles People’s Liberation Army violated the previous consensus reached during military and diplomatic clashes during the ongoing clash in eastern Ladakh and carried out provocative military moves to change the status quo,” said the Indian army.
“Indian troops anticipated this PLA activity on the southern shore of Pangong Tso Lake, took steps to strengthen our positions and thwart Chinese intentions to unilaterally change the facts on the ground. The Indian Army is committed to maintaining peace and tranquility through dialogue, but is also equally determined to protect its territorial integrity, “he added.
The military confrontation between India and China will enter the fifth month of this week, which saw a violent skirmish between rival troops in the Galwan Valley on June 15. While 20 Indian soldiers were killed in the bloody skirmish, China has been silent on the number of casualties. in the ranks of the PLA.
Several rounds of diplomatic and military talks so far have failed to break the deadlock in troop disengagement stalled in Pangong Tso and Gogra, as well as reducing rival military build-ups in the strategically located Depsang-Daulat Beg Oldie plains. . BOD), as previously reported by TOI.
The PLA has refused to withdraw to the east of the 8 km stretch it has occupied from ‘Finger-4’ to ‘Finger-8’ (mountain spurs jutting into the lake) after building dozens of new fortifications and positions of weapons on the north bank of the river. Pangong Tso since the beginning of May.
China has shown no intention to disassociate itself from the troop confrontation, and has dug further into its heels by continuing to build roads, bridges, helipads and other military infrastructure along the Royal Line of Control (LAC) to support its forces. troops on the royal front. off sites.
The development of infrastructure by the PLA ranges from the construction of roads, lateral links, bridges and helipads in various sectors near LAC to the laying of fiber optic cables for its troops at the confrontation sites in Pangong Tso and Gogra-Hot. Springs, while increasing its air bases at Hotan and Kashgar in Xinjiang, as well as Gargunsa, Lhasa-Gonggar and Shigatse in Tibet, as previously reported by TOI.
India, of course, has matched the PLA troop buildup and the deployment of tanks, artillery, surface-to-air missile batteries and other heavy weapons in the three sectors of the 3,488 kilometers of LAC stretching from Ladakh to Arunachal Pradesh.
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