Indian Army changes posture at LAC after China’s failed midnight attempt
India China border row: The Indian Army has deployed a mix of armoured and mechanized elements at Depsang Plains and another combat group at Chumar
The Indian Army has changed its posture from border management to securing the border on the 1,597 km Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh after People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) aggression in the Chushul sector followed by additional induction of troops and support elements, people familiar with the matter said. The PLA Air Force activity has gone up in the occupied Aksai Chin area with positions being militarily strengthened. “The Indian Army is now in a secure border mode to pre-empt any Chinese PLA transgressions in vulnerable areas of Ladakh. The repositioning of Indian forces has been done to take the Chinese aggression into account in the area and to ensure that all positions are defended,” said a senior official. The Indian Army has also matched the PLA’s pumping of troops into the sector by deploying additional specialised forces such as the Special Frontier Force that was raised to counter China after the 1962 war. SFF soldiers had played a lead role in preempting the Chinese PLA, which tried to grab Indian territory five days ago on the southern bank of Pangong Tso. Indian soldiers since then occupy key heights on the southern bank.
The Indian Army has paid special focus by deploying a combat group (a mix of armoured and mechanised elements) at Depsang Plains to match a PLA mechanised brigade and another combat group at Chumar to signal to PLA that it means business and will not allow an inch of Indian land to be taken. India dominates the Demchok and Chumar area, giving soldiers a clear line of sight to the Lhasa-Kashgar (219) highway, a critical artery for PLA logistics supply. The Indian posture at Chushul clearly indicates that any further PLA perfidy will receive a matching response, a military commander said. While the PLA, under General Secretary Xi Jinping, is blaming the Indian Army domestically for aggravating the border situation, the Chinese are making no effort to sort out the border row diplomatically or militarily by just restoring status quo ante.
“It is a dead-end posturing as this will not yield any results for PLA as neither side can deploy troops all along the 3,488 km LAC round the clock throughout the year,” said a senior official.
Although the military and diplomatic parleys are on, the Indian Army troopers are leaving nothing to chance and are prepared for the worst case scenario with the decisions taken on the spot not by the headquarters.
Leh/ New Delhi:
The situation along the Line of Actual Control or LAC - de facto border between India and China - is "slightly tense", Army chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane said this morning, adding that "we have undertaken some precautionary deployments for our own safety and security". "We are sure that
the problem can be resolved fully through talks," the Army chief said today, referring to the India-China border tensions.
His remarks come after the government said that Chinese troops engaged in "provocative action" at the south bank of Pangong Lake in eastern Ladakh last Saturday and again on Monday. China should "sincerely engage" with India to restore peace along the border through complete disengagement, the government said on Thursday. "I took a review of the situation after reaching Leh yesterday (Thursday). I took a first hand account as I spoke to the troops. They are highly motivated... and they are fully prepared to deal with any situation that may arise. I would like to reiterate, like always, that our officers are the finest in the world. They will make not just the army but the entire country proud," he said.
"The situation along the LAC is slightly tense. In view of the situation, we have undertaken some precautionary deployments for our own safety and security. These deployments, we undertook along the LAC," the Army chief added. High-level talks between senior military officers of India and China to discuss the border tension since last week's flare-up entered the fifth round today.
"We have been continuously engaging with China both at the military level and diplomatic level. The engagements are ongoing. We are sure that through these talks whatever differences we have will be resolved. We will ensure that the New rules of engagement are in play along the Line of Actual Control ( LAC) and could have helped prevent tensions from spiralling over the weekend when Indian troops won the “race for the passes” on the southern bank of Pangong Tso, ThePrint has learnt. Sources in the defence and security establishment said when the movement of Chinese soldiers was witnessed at around Saturday midnight along with their armoured personnel carriers, specialised elements of the Indian Army carried out “tactical signalling” to dissuade the People’s Liberation
Army (PLA) from coming closer. Status quo is maintained and our interests are safeguarded," General Naravane told news agency
The signalling worked and the Chinese Army did not move forward even though they had brought in additional troops after warnings were first issued, the sources said. “The Chinese realised that India meant serious business and would defend its territory strongly,” a source said.
India has changed the rules of engagement at the LAC after the deadly clash on 15 June in Galwan, which led to the death of 20 Indian soldiers and undeclared casualties on the Chinese side too.
This came after China used crude weapons like clubs and sticks with nails on them to attack the Indian soldiers who had gone to talk and check on China’s promise to dismantle an observation post set up inside the Indian side near Patrol Point 14.
The new rules
According to the new rules, commanders on the ground will have the full freedom to put in use any instrument under their command for tactical operations as deemed fit.
Previously, not all soldiers on the ground carried loaded firearms while on patrol, sources had said earlier. The practice of not opening fire draws its inspiration from the 1996 agreement between India and China, which says “neither side shall open fire or conduct blast operations within 2 km of the Line of Actual Control”.
Asked about specific developments that took place over the weekend, an Army source said, “We dissuaded them from coming closer to our precautionary deployment positions. The details of tactical operations cannot be shared with the media”.
According to our sources, specialised elements of the Army have dominated the southern bank of the Pangong Tso in eastern Ladakh and are now in control of Reqin Pass and Spanggur Gap in the hills under the Chushul sector. In a change of tactics, the Army has redeployed troops over the last few days along the entire LAC, especially in Eastern Ladakh. Sources have underlined that these redeployment is defensive in nature and to pre-empt more aggressive behaviour by the Chinese and to prevent land grabbing attempts.