As trust deficit lingers, India & China prepare for another harsh winter deployment in Ladakh
Forward deployment to continue even though India & China are expected to make forward movement in Hot Springs, last unresolved face-off site, during next corps commander talks.
SNEHESH ALEX PHILIP
4 October, 2021 11:21 am IST
New Delhi: India and China are looking to continue troop deployment in the forward areas of Ladakh for a second consecutive winter, ThePrint has learnt.
This, despite the fact that both sides are expected to make forward movement in the Hot Springs area, the last unresolved face-off site, during the next corps commander-level talks, expected this month, sources in the defence establishment said.
According to defence sources, the continued deployment is a fallout of a “trust deficit” between the two sides as tensions over the western sector of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) continue to fester nearly 18 months since the stand-off began last April-May.
While both India and China have withdrawn from face-off sites on the northern and southern banks of Pangong Tso, besides those at Gogra and Galwan Valley, they continue to maintain extra troops as part of a multi-tier deployment.
Additional troop deployment
has also taken place at Demchok and Depsang Plains. While the Indian and Chinese troops are not in a face-off at these points of conflict, they continue to be deployed here to counter each other’s possible movement.
“While we may be feeling the heat of the combat deployments in Ladakh, we have forced the PLA (People’s Liberation Army) to go for forward deployment, which is costing them money and affecting their morale,” a source in the defence establishment said.
The winter in Ladakh is famously bitter, with temperatures in the forward areas dropping to -30°C during its peak.
The minimum temperature in Ladakh has already hit 0°C, with the coming week’s forecast predicting a further dip. Last year marked the first time soldiers were deployed in the forward areas of the LAC through Ladakh’s
harsh winter.
Forward deployment to continue even though India & China are expected to make forward movement in Hot Springs, last unresolved face-off site, during next corps commander talks.
theprint.in
