Closer to strategic DBO, China opens new front at Depsang

[HalfMoon]

China attempts to open new front in Ladakh's Depsang, inputs confirm movement on ground
Expecting Chinese movement in Depsang and the area east of Daulat Beg Oldie (DOB), the Indian Army has been mobilising in these parts of eastern Ladakh since late-May.

Shiv Aroor
New Delhi
June 24, 2020
UPDATED: June 24, 2020 16:50 IST

File photo of Galwan Valley where the face-off happened on June 15

Chinese mobilisation in parts of eastern Ladakh indicates that the People's Liberation Army (PLA) could open a fresh front in Daulat Beg Oldie (DBO) and Depsang Sectors.

Sources tell India Today that data has confirmed Chinese mobilisation east of DBO. Camps and vehicles were spotted near the Chinese base in June. The Chinese base in question was erected prior to 2016 but new camps and vehicle tracks in the region were seen only this month in satellite images and the same was confirmed by tracking movement on the ground.

MAP SHOWING DISTANCE OF DBO & DEPSANG FROM CHINESE BASE WHERE MOVEMENTS HAVE BEEN NOTICED
India had mobilized in Depsang in late-May, expecting Chinese movement in this sector. Depsang was the area where the PLA had intruded in 2013.

CLOSE UP OF THE CHINESE BASE WITH ARROWS POINTING TO CAMPS, VEHICLE TRACKS ETC THAT ESTABLISH ACTIVITY
On Wednesday, a border meeting was held between India and China. The meeting was attended by Members of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China border affairs (WMCC). Since the military build-up on both sides of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh in May of this year, several military and diplomatic level talks have been held between the two countries.

CLOSE UP OF THE CHINESE BASE WITH ARROWS POINTING TO CAMPS, VEHICLE TRACKS ETC THAT ESTABLISH ACTIVITY
The most important of these discussions were held on June 6 at the Moldo border personnel meeting point where both sides discussed de-escalation and disengagement. However, the meet was followed by a violent face-off between troops from both sides in the Galwan Valley on the night of June 15. This resulted in 20 Indian soldiers getting killed in the line of duty.


https://www.indiatoday.in/india/sto...confirm-movement-on-ground-1692289-2020-06-24

 

[HalfMoon]

China post that led to Galwan Valley clash erected again, PLA ‘threatens patrols in Depsang’

Following an understanding between India & China after the clash at Galwan Valley, both sides were supposed to pull back from the area. While India has, China hasn't.
SNEHESH ALEX PHILIP 24 June, 2020 9:22 pm IST

A Chinese flag and an effigy of President Xi Jinping are burnt during a protest against the Galwan Valley clash, in Kolkata last Thursday | Representational image | ANI
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New Delhi: The Chinese observation post destroyed on 15 June by the troops of Army’s 16 Bihar is back at exactly the same location despite an agreement between the two sides to pull back, defence sources confirmed to ThePrint.

The development was first reported by news agency ANI earlier Wednesday.

The removal of the post was the trigger of the clash between the two armies that killed 20 Indian soldiers last week. Meanwhile, tensions are also brewing in Depsang, where the Chinese are believed to have blocked Indian patrols from going to Patrol Points 11, 12 and 13, an indication that the Chinese have transgressed into this area too.

The Army has officially not reacted to queries raised on the issue.

Following an understanding between the two sides after the clash at Galwan Valley, the Indians had pulled back from the area, which is close to Patrol Point 14, around half-a-kilometre from the Line of Actual Control (LAC), sources said. The Chinese were also supposed to do the same.

However, during the next patrol, Indians observed that the Chinese observation post had come back at exactly the same point, the sources added.

The issue, the sources said, was discussed during the Corps Commander-level talks held between India and China on 22 June, where the two sides had agreed to pursue step-wise de-escalation in the area.

The Chinese have laid claim to the area and said that the post is on their territory, the sources added.

Reports of what appears to be a fresh provocation from China come on a day when the country’s foreign and defence ministries issued statements blaming Indians for the 15 June clash and asserting that Galwan Valley belonged to them.

Sources told ThePrint that the Chinese want the Indians to limit their patrol to the confluence of Shyok-Galwan river, about 5 km into the LAC.

“It is a long haul. There will be lots of grey areas at every level,” a source told ThePrint when asked whether the Chinese are going back on the terms agreed during talks.

Tensions continue
China’s continued aggression at Galwan Valley comes even as it raises challenges for Indian patrol teams in the Depsang Plains, which also lie along the western sector of the Line of Actual Control (LAC), especially near Patrol Points 11, 12 and 13.

Sources said India and China have both increased deployment in the Depsang Plains, an area located close to the strategic air base Daulat Beg Oldi.

Earlier Wednesday, fresh satellite images had raised concerns of increased Chinese troop build-up at both Galwan Valley and Depsang.

The satellite images of Galwan Valley, dated 22 June and put out by Twitter handle @detresfa_, which has been releasing images since the tensions began building in early May, show a massive build-up of China’s People’s Liberation Army troops since the 15 June clash.

Although the Army is yet to speak officially on the satellite images, sources had told ThePrint earlier that the camps visible are on the Chinese side of the Galwan Valley, close to the LAC.

However, later in the evening, when asked specifically about the return of the Chinese observation post, sources confirmed that it had indeed come up.

Asked about the situation at Depsang, the sources said the Chinese have deployed additional tanks and moved them slightly forward from their usual positions. But they are still away from the LAC, the sources added.

Even so, the sources said, soldiers of the Peoples Liberation Army have moved a few kilometres into what is locally known as the “bottleneck area” on the Indian side and are sitting at heights, creating a threatening situation for Indian soldiers at Patrol Points 11, 12 and 13.

In April 2013, Chinese troops had crossed into Indian territory and pitched tents for three weeks at Raki Nula, 30 km south of Daulat Beg Oldi, before they agreed to pull out.

https://theprint.in/defence/china-p...gain-pla-threatens-patrols-in-depsang/448117/

 

[kankan326]

It is India who started it. It is China who will end it.

 

[Genghis khan1]

Chinese are curving border based on Geographical Features and terrain for better defense and fighting position. Incase they have to fight a future US backed Indo-US aggression. Since no actual border is marked, Chinese careless if they have to annex some of previously held/ claimed Indian territory.

 

[Song Hong]

Confirmed by Russian.
**********
China, India Open New Front of Escalation With Deployment of Heavy Vehicles, Troops in Depsang.


https://sputniknews.com/military/20...ployment-of-heavy-vehicles-troops-in-depsang/

 

[Sulman Badshah]

Closer to strategic DBO, China opens new front at Depsang
Around 30 km south-east from the important airstrip of Daulat Beg Oldie (DBO), the Chinese army has moved and deployed in large numbers up to a place called Y-junction or Bottleneck on the Depsang plains.

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Written by Sushant Singh | New Delhi | Updated: June 25, 2020 1:00:41 pm

An Indian army convoy moves on the Srinagar- Ladakh highway at Gagangeer, northeast of Srinagar (AP)
As India and China grapple with rising tensions in the Galwan Valley, Hot Springs and Pangong Tso on the Line of Actual Control (LAC), the Chinese army has crossed the border in another strategic area to the north, the Depsang plains. This intrusion is seen as another attempt by the Chinese to shift the LAC further west on the disputed boundary.

Follow LIVE updates

Around 30 km south-east from the important airstrip of Daulat Beg Oldie (DBO), the Chinese army has moved and deployed in large numbers up to a place called Y-junction or Bottleneck on the Depsang plains. Sources said the Chinese deployments include troops, heavy vehicles, specialist military equipment.

Bottleneck, which derives its name from a rocky outcrop that prevents vehicular movement across the Depsang plains, is the place at which the Chinese had pitched tents after an ingress in April 2013. The standoff between the soldiers on both sides had then lasted three weeks and the status quo ante was restored after diplomatic talks.


Read | Diplomats build on India-China military talks: Need to implement understanding on disengagement

Bottleneck is around 18 km on the Indian side of the LAC, even though the Chinese claim line lies another five kilometres further west. This location is seven kilometres to the north-east of Burtse, a Ladakhi town which falls on the 255-km Darbuk-Shyok-Daulat Beg Oldie (DSDBO) road and has an Indian Army post.

When contacted, the Army’s media wing declined to comment on the matter, with an officer telling The Indian Express that “the report can neither be confirmed nor denied”.

Bottleneck is known as Y-junction because the track coming from Burtse forks into two tracks, one going northwards along the Raki Nala to Patrolling Point-10 (PP-10) and the other south-eastward towards PP-13. These two tracks are followed by Indian patrols on foot up to PP-10, PP-11, PP-11A, PP-12 and PP-13.

Also Read | Why India claims Galwan belongs to them

Those dealing with the situation contend that if China is able to link up from PP-10 to PP-13 via Bottleneck, it could easily shift the LAC further west of the present Indian Limit of Patrolling (LoP). This would deny India access to a significant part of the LAC close to the DBO airfield and bring the Chinese closer to the strategic DSDBO road.

Decoding LAC Conflict

• A K Antony: 'Galwan Valley was never a point of dispute. It is a betrayal by China'
• Ram Madhav: ‘Our claim is not just LAC — our claim goes beyond that’
• Editorial: China’s new claim to entire Galwan Valley highlights challenge ahead

All the patrolling points in this area – PP-10, PP-11, PP-11A, PP-12 and PP-13 – fall on the LoP, which is marked a few kilometres to the west of the LAC on Indian maps. This 20-km frontage is the only portion on the border where the LoP falls short of LAC. It has been done due to historical reasons, and the LoP has been approved by the China Study Group.

Satellite photos show how the situation changed along the LAC
After the 2013 standoff was resolved, India had created a new patrol base at bottleneck, with a kind of permanent patrol deployed there, to observe and stop any Chinese patrols from moving any further. But a Chinese patrol had still managed to get through to a place around 1.5 km short of Burtse in September 2015.

As reported earlier, there have been a large number of transgressions by Chinese patrols in the area which have been recorded by the Indian side. There were 157 transgressions in 2019, up from 83 in 2018 and 75 in 2017.


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[Ahmad Bhutta]

Banniye Kia Kia bachaega abh :/

 

[vi-va]

Test of 56 inch chest now.
.
.
.
Oh, and test of Modi/BJP new friends.

A friend in need is a friend indeed. Otherwise, forget about it.

1 true friend is better than 10 so called friends who only want to take advantage.

 

[Sabretooth]

India trying to deal with China.

 

[rott]

Test of 56 inch chest now.
.
.
.
Oh, and test of Modi/BJP new friends.

A friend in need is a friend indeed. Otherwise, forget about it.

1 true friend is better than 10 so called friends who only want to take advantage.
View attachment 644584

This guy surely loves hugging.