Date
12/22/2022 3:39:04 PM
(MENAFN- Kashmir Observer)
OVER 70,000 Chinese troops are reportedly deployed along the Indian-claimed border in eastern Ladakh, and infrastructure is being built inside of Indian lines on the strategic Depsang Plains and other friction points. The Chinese are also reported to have deployed a large number of surveillance drones over the buffer zones created within India-claimed lines to keep a watch on the movements of Indian troops. The Chinese have mobilized more men and machinery to the Galwan Valley and other standoff points, where earlier partial disengagements took place. The Chinese are continuing with their massive infrastructure development in Depsang Plains claimed by India.
Such reports follow the statement by external affairs minister S. Jaishankar on Monday that India had made its biggest-ever LAC deployment to counter the Chinese buildup in Ladakh.Earlier in December, Indian troops foiled a Chinese attempt to transgress the border in the Tawang sector of Arunachal Pradesh. The consequent clash injured 15 to 20 Indian soldiers. This has created a fraught situation along the entire stretch of Line of Actual Control, stretching all the way from Ladakh to Arunachal Pradesh.
The two countries have been engaged in a bitter standoff ever since the Chinese army staged incursions across the Line of actual Control in multiple areas in April-May 2020. The situation came to a head when 20 Indian soldiers lost their lives during a scuffle along the border. Ever since multiple Corps Commander-level talks and a few meetings between the foreign ministers of the two nations yielded little result.
Last year, in a first breakthrough in talks, India and China pulled back their troops from the south bank of Pangong lake area in eastern Ladakh following their agreement for“synchronised and organised disengagement”. In September, the two countrieS began disengaging from the Gogra-Hotsprings border area in Ladakh after reaching a consensus in the 16th round of India-China Corps Commander-level meeting. This momentarily calmed the situation on the border. In October, the outgoing Chinese ambassador Sun Weidong in his farewell speech talked about 'broad prospects' in ties between India and China. He, however, added that both countries should refrain from interfering in the internal matters of the other, while acknowledging that it was natural for the neighbours to have differences. But with the Tawang incident, the situation seems to have gone back to square one. It injected fresh bitterness into the bilateral ties. And now the unprecedented massing of troops along the LAC has added a dangerous new dimension to the situation. This calls for the two countries to seek closer diplomatic engagement to resolve the developing crisis.
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