New Delhi: The Indian Army has reportedly occupied heights on the north shore of Pangong Tso, which overlook Chinese positions on the ridge lines in the Finger 4 area. This means that the Indian Army now has a tactical advantage in the north and south banks of the Pangong Tso.
Mountain warfare is about dominating the heights, and since they are under the control of the Indian army, there are reports that China has started to accumulate its forces on the north bank of the Pangong Tso and is trying to get closer to the Indian position in Finger 4.
The entire Pangong Tso area in the Ladakh sector is on the brink of expectation of some kind of action by the Chinese army to regain lost ground in the south of the lake, where India had occupied two dozen strategic heights in a pre-emptive movement.
What has increased the tension is the fact that now all the action in the Pangong Tso area is being controlled directly by the commanders in Beijing and is no longer in the hands of local PLA officials.
To pressure India, China also advanced its 15-20 tanks near Spanggur Gap, a mountain pass in LAC, between China and India. India has also deployed its battle tanks.
In its Moldo garrison, China has deployed between 5,000 and 7,000 troops and India has a similar number in the area.
Chinese troops try daily to threaten the positions of the Indians. India has built defenses and put barbed wire around their positions and has warned the Chinese that crossing these cables will attract a strong reaction from the Indian army.
On Monday night, the Chinese military tried to remove the barbed wire, but they were warned to return. Then the Chinese troops fired into the air to intimidate the Indian soldiers. The PLA troops carried what looked like traditional Guandao weapons (a single-edged sword-shaped blade on the end of a pole) and had automatic rifles.
In May, the Chinese army crossed LAC on the north shore of Pangong Tso and occupied 8 km between the Finger 4 and Finger 8 areas. In all diplomatic and military talks between the two countries since then, China has steadfastly refused to vacate the occupied area.
The finger area refers to a set of eight cliffs jutting out of the Sirijap mountain range overlooking Pangong (tso) Lake. Before the PLA took positions on finger 4 with a view to Indian deployments, the army patrolled up to finger 8 which New Delhi considers to be within Indian territory.
…
