China continues to maintain a hold over Ladakh's Galwan river area - a flash-point for the 1962 war

by Manu Pubby

New Delhi: China continues to maintain a hold over Ladakh’s Galwan river area - a flash-point for the 1962 war - as multiple rounds of ground-level talks have failed and the army being instructed to follow standing orders that prevent the use of force for evicting intruders along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). The Chinese stranglehold over the valley has been strengthened over the past few weeks with over 5,000 PLA troops in position along the LAC, several of them patently inside Indian territory. While the army is refusing to comment on the situation, sources indicate that the Chinese deployment is even larger on its side of the border to support the intruding troops.

According to one version, China now has three times the troop levels in the area as compared to India, though sources say the ratio is still favourable to the defensive force. Heavy vehicles and even suspected mobile artillery are visible near the border, with sources saying that the strong deployment is part of a 'well planned move' and not a standard face off that has escalated. As first reported by ET, the Chinese side has brought in forces that were deployed at a nearby exercise to contest the strategic Galwan valley. While according to the Chinese side, the immediate provocation was the building of a bridge and road, the massive build up suggests that the intention is to permanently occupy the valley.

The value of the area is high for India as the Galwan river comes close to the strategic Shyok-Daulat Beg Oldie road that was completed late last year. Chinese presence in the Galwan valley poses a threat to the road that is vital for servicing troops deployed in Sub Sector North and close to the Karakoram pass. While the Indian side has built up force strength, including deployment of troops from other areas and stepping up surveillance activities, instructions on the ground have not changed—no use of force or arms is allowed to push back the Chinese intrusion.

Sources said more than half a dozen attempts at convincing the Chinese troops to retreat during border-level talks have failed to get any result. Besides, at the four intrusion points at Galwan and finger area alongside Pangong Tso, the Chinese side has dug in semi permanent defences, indicating the intention to create new armed posts. This would mean an alteration to the Line of Actual Control (LAC) for the first time since the 1960s.

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