China tents in ‘occupied’ Depsang Plains

[FOOLS_NIGHTMARE]

Chinese People’s Liberation Army estimated to be entrenched 18km inside India-claimed lines

The Chinese army is said to have bolstered its presence in the “occupied” territory of the Depsang Plains in eastern Ladakh and has pitched over 200 tents over the past one month, besides building additional bunkers and military camps, sources in the security establishment said.
At the Depsang Plains, a 972sqkm plateau 16,000ft above sea level, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army is estimated to be entrenched 18km inside India-claimed lines.
“A recent intelligence report has suggested that the PLA has intensified construction work in the occupied zone and pitched over 200 tents over the past one month. They have continued with the construction activities in the Depsang Plains and have been building additional military camps and bunkers,” an official attached to the Indo-Tibetan Border Police’s (ITBP) intelligence wing told The Telegraph.
Despite disengagement from multiple transgression points in eastern Ladakh, the PLA has so far refused to disengage from Depsang, which is strategically important for India.
Aksai Chin, which is under illegal occupation of China, lies to the east of Depsang while the Siachen Glacier is situated at the north-western edge.
The Chinese army has already cut off the Indian Army’s access to five traditional patrolling points — PPs 10, 11, 11A, 12 and 13 — since the border standoff began in May 2020.
The sources said the assessment based on intelligence reports strengthened growing apprehensions among military veterans and security officials that the PLA had been aggressively working to bolster a “revised status quo”.


“The ramping up of military infrastructure inside the occupied territory in the Depsang Plains by the PLA is a big threat to India’s territorial sovereignty in the region. It clearly suggests that they have strengthened their foothold and are in no mood to retreat from Depsang,” said a former lieutenant general.
The deafening silence from India’s top political leadership on the situation at the China frontier, he said, is “alarming”.
There has been “partial” disengagement from other transgression points in the region — the Galwan Valley, Hot Springs, Pangong Lake and Gogra — by creating a demilitarised “buffer zone” with the Chinese stepping back a few kilometres while still remaining within India-claimed lines.
“During the military talks between the two countries the PLA always revives the 1959 claim line while pushing their claims along the Line of Actual Control. We are hoping the Depsang Plains issue will be taken up more strongly in the next commander-level talks,” said a defence ministry official.
India has rejected the Chinese 1959 claim line saying it has never accepted the so-called unilaterally defined LAC.

China tents in ‘occupied’ Depsang Plains

Chinese People’s Liberation Army estimated to be entrenched 18km inside India-claimed lines

www.telegraphindia.com

 

[renhai]

Solemnly declare that India has no right to implement the "British colonial expansion policy".

 

[walterbibikow]

Solemnly declare that India has no right to implement the "British colonial expansion policy".

If you see the chain of places where the negotiations have been carried out over the last two-and-a-half years, Patrolling Point 15 is one more centerpiece in the whole chain which runs through the Y junction on Raki Nalla, Galwan river (PP14), Patrolling Point 15, PP 17 Alpha, Pangong Tso north and Pangong Tso south bank.

This is a chain of locations which provide access towards Aksai Chin and the Depsang Bulge.

These are areas where buffer zones have developed between the Indian Army and the People's Liberation Army.

Patrolling Point 15 is a pass on the ridge line. The pass is called Jianan La.

By climbing the pass up PP 15, Indian troops can reach the depth areas of the Galwan river, and also get access towards the Depsang Bulge.

Therefore, the PLA wanted to deny or stop the movement of Indian troops in this area. That is why it took such a long time to finally arrive at a consensus for the creation of the buffer zone at PP15.

Indian troops posed a threat to the PLA if they had crossed PP15. Hence, it would have been painful for the PLA to allow Indian troops to patrol up to PP15.

The same thing is true at other friction points. We were patrolling up to Finger 8 earlier, we are not any longer. The Chinese are also patrolling up to Finger 4, they too can't patrol up to this area. We have a post in PP3 -- Dhan Singh Post -- but we didn't have a post in Finger 4 or Finger 8.

At each one of these buffer zones, both forces have distanced and disentangled themselves. So instead of a Line of Actual Control, a sort of 'belt of actual control' has come into being, but this does not provide a settlement to the border dispute.

This PP15 buffer zone has pushed Indian troops a little away while the PLA has pulled back similarly, thus creating a safe zone. It may suit the Chinese who do not want fisticuffs, brawls and scuffles that used to take place regularly for years.

Our troops used to patrol up to this area and have a look around. The PLA used to also patrol the area.

In the long term analysis, it may give PLA some satisfaction of having achieved a buffer zone protecting their own troops from the fisticuffs and scuffles. But they have also pushed us away from the patrolling areas.

It's a no win situation for either side.

We did not have permanent posts in areas of Raki Nala, PP10, 11, 12 or 13, but went for patrols to those areas and the Chinese used to also patrol up to the area of Burtse which they claim as in the 1959 claim line. India's on paper LAC claim is 18km east of Y-junction in what is historically PLA controlled territory. Which is why Indian troops only asserted control up to 8km east of Y-junction via patrols.

So by creating this so-called 'belt of control' or buffer zones, neither are we able to patrol the areas we were patrolling earlier nor the Chinese are able to patrol the areas they were patrolling.

It is a denial on both sides. A no win situation and that is where the situation rests now.

 

[Dungeness]

Solemnly declare that India has no right to implement the "British colonial expansion policy".

India views itself the "natual inheritor" to British colonial legacy, a second-hand colonial master. That's where its misery started.