Indian Army ready for the long haul in Ladakh, resources along LAC upped
talions, which were well inside the Chinese side and at a “good” distance from the LAC, have also been stationed by Chinese military strategists. These six battalions are accompanied by a “substantial” numbers of artillery guns, tanks and BMPS (a kind of infantry vehicle).
According to officials, because of the large number of troops and armaments that have been stationed by India on its side, the logical conclusion, in case the Chinese decide to intrude into Indian territory, will be a massive flare-up, which then might take days to get resolved.
“We are not going to take the first step, but we will also not be the first one to step back in case the situation comes to that. This confidence comes from the resources that we have at our hand now,” the official said.
Separately, intelligence agencies are keeping a close eye on other regions where India shares it borders with China to make sure that the situation in Ladakh does not become a diversion to create “misadventures” anywhere else.
The official said that “independent” satellite images being used by certain media organisations to give the message that China has entered Indian territory were “erroneous and based on lack of understanding of the ground situation”. “The LAC demarcation is not very clear in many parts of this huge region and it becomes difficult even for the men from both the sides, who are on the ground, to make a judgement call on which side is which. And that is also one of the reasons for the current situation. The Chinese have stationed their troops and machine near the LAC, no one is denying that. However, what these media outlets are describing as India’s side to substantiate their theory that China has entered our territory, is in fact the Chinese side of the LAC. The satellite images that they are using do not and cannot show the border demarcation. So how are they possibly deciding who has encroached and who has not?” the official asked.
According to him, Indian troops on the ground were acting in a “restrained” manner so as not to vitiate the situation. “We have increased our patrolling in the region, which anyway was more substantial than China even in normal times, to make sure we get no ‘surprises’ from anywhere,” the official added.