India-China tensions at Depsang, a disengagement sticking point, began much before May

[FOOLS_NIGHTMARE]

India-China tensions at Depsang Plains in Ladakh precede the current stand-off by several months at least, ThePrint has learnt. The situation in the area, sources said, is similar to the one that existed in Pangong Tso before the current stand-off began in early May.

Both Pangong Tso and Depsang Plains have emerged as sticking points during the India-China disengagement efforts along multiple points in Ladakh, with the process entering a stalemate in the face of Beijing’s lack of cooperation.

Even though talks at the corps commander-level have hit a roadblock, a fresh dialogue is being held Saturday at the Major General-level, a notch below, in Daulat Beg Oldi. The talks will focus on Depsang Plains and the overall situation.
According to sources in the defence and security establishment, tensions at Depsang Plains can be traced to China’s 18-km incursion into the area, which is close to the strategic Daulat Beg Oldi base, in 2013, and the 2017 Doklam stand-off.

It was reported in 2013 that the three weeks of tensions triggered by the Chinese incursions had been resolved after talks, with India and China agreeing to go back. But sources said PLA soldiers never went back completely across the Indian perception of Line of Actual Control (LAC), and stayed behind the limit of patrolling points.

At Depsang, the patrolling points are a little away from the perceived LAC like in other areas, and this is called the limit of patrolling. Soldiers don’t go beyond the points, even though the LAC is still ahead.

However, Depsang is an area where the perception of the LAC is starkly different between China and India. According to locally established agreements, both sides were allowed patrolling until certain areas that fell into individual perceptions of the LAC, but sources said the practice “came under stress” after the Doklam stand-off of 2017.
“The Depsang issue is different from the current stand-off that is taking place between India and China. The Chinese have been blocking India’s patrol from bottleneck area to PP 11, PP12, PP12 A and PP 13. This has been happening from before the current tensions at LAC,” a source in the know said.
Another source said that Indians, too, have blocked Chinese patrols in the Depsang. However, this is because the Chinese perceived LAC is beyond the Bottleneck area (around 18-20 km from LAC) and just 1.5 km from Burtse, where the Chinese reached their claim line in 2015 during Chinese President Xi Jinping’s India visit.
Importance of Depsang
In 2013, the Chinese had managed to complete a road behind the Bottleneck area in what is known as the Raki Nala region. Indians used to go by foot beyond the Bottleneck area, through which, as the name suggests, it is impossible to take vehicles.

In April 2013, sources said, Chinese troops crossed into Indian territory and pitched tents for three weeks at Raki Nala, 30 km south of Daulat Beg Oldi, before they agreed to pull out. “However, they went back beyond the limit of Indian patrolling and not behind the LAC,” a source cited above said.

The Army has been tightlipped about the situation in Depsang but officers say enough men and material have been moved there to prevent any incursion by China.

Apart from its proximity to Daulat Beg Oldi, what makes the area more strategically important is that if the Chinese do decide to build up until what they perceive to be the LAC, they could then gain control of the Darbuk-Shyok-Daulat Beg Oldi (DS-DBO) road and also attempt to take over the Saser La pass, which could cut off Siachen Glacier for India.
This situation has been war-gamed multiple times by the northern command, the sources said.

“This all has been war-gamed. However, it is not the case that the Chinese can just come in and occupy these areas. The sub-sector north (which oversees Depsang and Daulat Beg Oldi) itself is very important for India and there is enough of defence already in place. More has been added in wake of the current tensions at LAC,” a source said.

Satellite images have shown increased Indian and Chinese deployments at Depsang Plains. The Chinese have deployed additional tanks and artillery guns and moved them slightly forward from their usual positions. But they are still away from India’s perception of LAC.

India has also moved additional men, tanks and other equipment into Depsang Plains to counter Chinese build-up.

https://theprint.in/defence/india-c...ore-may/477612/?amp&__twitter_impression=true

 

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More tanks, troops deployed in Ladakh

In response to China’s deployment of more than 17,000 troops and armoured vehicles opposite Daulat Beg Oldi (DBO) and Depsang plains in Ladakh, India has made heavy deployment of troops and tank regiments in the area to counter any misadventure by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) there.

“We have done a very heavy deployment of troops and tanks in the DBO and Depsang plains area including the T-90 regiments which are part of an armoured division,” government sources said.

The deployments have been made from the Patrolling Point 1 near the Karakoram Pass (PP-3) to the Depsang plains where the Chinese have amassed more than 17,000 troops since April-May time frame and have been blocking Indian patrols from PP-10 to PP-13, sources said.

The armoured deployment is such that the Chinese would find it difficult to operate there, in case, they try out any misadventure, they said.

Before the Chinese started build-up opposite the DBO and Depsang, the entire area was looked after by a mountain brigade and an armoured brigade but today more than 15,000 troops and several tank regiments have been moved there both by road and by air to tackle the threat from China, sources said.

One of the major intentions of the Chinese in this area has been to build a road from its TWD battalion headquarters opposite the DBO sector to the Karakoram pass area and connect the battalion there.

The connectivity plan, which has been foiled in the past, will allow the two Chinese units to reach other in a matter of a couple of hours against the 15-hour drive through the Highway G219 in their territory, sources said.

A small bridge was put up by the Chinese inside Indian territory on a nala (drain) near PP-7 and PP-8 but it was broken by Indian soldiers a few years ago, sources said.

At present, India and China are engaged in a dialogue focusing on disengagement from Finger area and other friction points but Chinese build up along the LAC in Depsang plains and DBO area has not yet been taken up in the military talks.

At present, we are in a position of strength in the Depsang Plains and DBO area now and we are not in a hurry to discuss that with the Chinese. Let the disengagement first take place and then we can talk about de-escalation there also, sources said.

On Sunday, India and China held Corps Commander-level talks at Moldo on the Chinese side of LAC to discuss disengagement.

The Chinese had earlier agreed for complete disengagement at Galwan valley, PP-15, Hot Springs and Gogra along with Finger area near Pangong Tso lake.

However, China stopped honouring their commitment after initial disengagement in Finger area and is now wanting to build an observation post at Finger 5. This has been rejected by India which has clearly stated that it will have to disengage completely and restore the status quoted existing in April/May 2020.

http://www.thenorthlines.com/more-tanks-troops-deployed-in-ladakh/

 

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https://twitter.com/x/status/1292089334133227529

 

[TNT]

Pakistan should really light up the LOC and siachen sector.