Reports about enhanced Chinese deployments in the region have been confirmed by recent satellite images that show over 80 tents as well as heavy vehicles that have crossed the LAC, as was first reported by ET

NEW DELHI: The situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Ladakh region remains tense as thousands of troops remain deployed at the front after a series of Chinese transgressions in the Galwan and Pangong Tso areas of Ladakh since early this month.

Over the past days, the Indian side has reinforced troops, including plans to move in formations from other theatres to bolster formations in Sub Sector North (SSN) that has been facing unusual pressure after China moved in several hundred troops into the Galwan valley. The Chinese side has also commenced construction of bunkers at the touristic Pangong Tso lake into what India has firmly referred to as its territory.

Reports about enhanced Chinese deployments in the region have been confirmed by recent satellite images that show over 80 tents as well as heavy vehicles that have crossed the LAC, as was first reported by ET.

The images – more detailed satellite information is expected in coming days – shows that the Chinese side has moved in troops both across the LAC as well as on its side of the border as the crisis continues. Reports are also coming in of heavy Chinese deployments in its side of the border, akin to the Doklam crisis of 2017 when several thousands troops were moved near Sikkim by the PLA.

However, sources said that the Chinese deployment is being matched by the Indian side and both the road to the strategic region as well as an airfield at Daulat Beg Oldie (DBO) remain functional to bring in additional troops.

At the Pangong Tso lake – the location for several popular Bollywood movie scenes – the Chinese side seems to be attempting a shift of the LAC by moving in by 2-4 kms along the finger area. A new bunker complex is coming up and Indian patrols that used to go to the West have been blocked.

While diplomatic conversations are on, as things stand, the on ground positions suggest a shift of the Line of Actual Control for the first time since the 1962 war when Chinese troops carried out a massive invasion and overran Indian posts across the northeast and Ladakh.