No de-escalation in China stand-off; Army bosses discuss ammunition stocks, op logistics

An army convoy moving towards Zojilla pass in Drass on Thursday
NEW DELHI: There are no signs of any de-escalation in the almost month-long confrontation between Indian and Chinese troops in eastern Ladakh, even as the top Army brass took stock of the "ground situation" with fresh inputs from the military operations and intelligence directorates here on Thursday.

The Indian Army has "enough acclimatized" troops now deployed in the high-altitude areas in eastern Ladakh to take care of any contingency, while battalions in other sectors like Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh along the 3,488-km Line of Actual Control (LAC) have also further cranked up their operational readiness, said sources.

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The ongoing Army commanders’ conference, being chaired by General M M Naravane and attended by the senior Lt-Generals heading the six operational and one training commands, also interestingly discussed the "management of ammunition stocks and operational logistics" while reviewing the situation along the LAC on Thursday.

Sources said there is no doubt that the "well-coordinated" operation by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) for simultaneous intrusions at multiple points across the LAC into eastern Ladakh had the full-backing of the top Chinese politico-military leadership. "Local commanders cannot take such far-reaching decisions," said a source.

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PLA commanders at the Chushul and Daulat Beg Oldie (DBO) border personnel meeting points in eastern Ladakh, meanwhile, continue to be aggressive in their demand for India to stop its road and bridge construction activities, which were taking "well within our" territory. "But our commanders are standing firm and instead asking them to withdraw to restore the status quo," said a source.

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Consequently, Indian and Chinese soldiers remain entrenched for the long haul in their face-off positions at three places in the larger Galwan Valley region (patrolling points 14-15 and Gogra post) and one each on the northern bank of Pangong Tso (Tso means lake) and Demchok, which are broadly around 1-3 km inside what India considers to be its territory.

Both sides have also moved forward thousands of additional troops and set up logistics supply lines, with heavy vehicles and monitoring equipment, to back their soldiers on the actual confrontation sites.

The around 1,200-to 1,500 PLA soldiers at the face-off sites have pitched tents, dug trenches and built make-shift bunkers, while being backed by another 5,000 troops moved closer to the LAC by China, as was earlier reported by TOI.

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There is a growing concern that the five bilateral agreements and protocols, ranging from the Agreement on Maintenance of Peace and Tranquility along the LAC in 1993 to the Border Defence Cooperation Agreement (BDCA) in 2013, have largely failed to deliver the goods on the ground.

Moreover, China has been recalcitrant about either "clarifying" the LAC, which would reduce face-offs till a final border settlement is achieved, or setting up the long-pending hotline between top military commanders like the DGMO-level one between India and Pakistan. The top-level hotline was first proposed in the BDCA and then agreed to during PM Narendra Modi’s visit to China in 2015, as was earlier reported by TOI.