NEW DELHI: Although Corps Commanders of India and China met on Tuesday to discuss ways to minimise tensions along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Eastern Ladakh, additional troop mobilization in the area continued.
An officer aware of the matter said, “They have deployed troops all along Ladakh and it is part of the agenda points between the two Corps Commanders.” The Indian delegation led by 14 Corps Commander Lt Gen Harinder Singh and China represented by South Xinjiang Military Division Corps Commander Major General Lin Liu met for the third time to thrash out details for de-escalation on the ground.
However, both sides continued to raise their troop strength. “Concentration and mobilisation of troops hasn’t shown any sign of abating,” said another source and predicted the stand-off stretching ‘well into the winter’. Terming it precautionary deployment, Lt Gen (Retd) D S Hooda, former chief of the Northern Command, said it is not a preparation for war.
“There would be attempts to strengthen the defensive posture in other sectors, which would lead to corresponding deployment on both the sides,” said Lt Gen Hooda. The defence of Ladakh is under the 14 Corps of the Army which is part of the Northern Command.
The deployments are seen as preparations so as to not get surprised by Chinese manoeuvers. During the several rounds of talks, India and China had identified 23 sensitive points across the 3,488 km-long LAC. Ladakh has several sensitive areas — from Trig heights, DBO and Depsang. The Galwan Valley, Spangur Gap, Pangong Tso and Demchok (Chushul and Chumar) are among the other sensitive areas.
Marathon meeting
The third Corps Commander-level meeting that began at 10.30 am on Tuesday went on way past 9.45 pm. Their previous meeting on June 22 lasted about 11 hours. It had started at 11.30 am