China Stealthily Builds Up Troop Positions In Eastern Ladakh

OB Bureau

January 24, 2021 2:19 pm

Pic Credit: Financial Express

New Delhi: The Chinese Army has violated its own proposal of a crucial confidence building measure to defuse the border tension with India in eastern Ladakh.

The Chinese Army has consolidated its positions in eastern Ladakh and quietly, gradually increased troop numbers at the friction points along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). This comes despite its specific proposal four months ago that the two sides should refrain from sending more troops to the troubled front.

The latest ground assessments confirm that the PLA has not only reneged on the joint statement issued following the sixth round of talks on September 21 last year, but done so with attempted stealth, India Today reported.

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A day after the round of talks on September 2020, India and China had issued a joint statement that was seen to be substantive forward movement after months in a deadlock.

According to the joint statement, the two sides had “agreed to earnestly implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, strengthen communication on the ground, avoid misunderstandings and misjudgements, stop sending more troops to the frontline, refrain from unilaterally changing the situation on the ground, and avoid taking any actions that may complicate the situation”.

Four months later, however, that most crucial confidence building measure is practically useless.

Top Army sources have confirmed, according to the India Today report, that the Indian Army has had no choice but to mirror the gradual build-up on the Chinese side. In some sectors, foreseeing fresh Chinese concentrations, the Indian Army has conducted pre-emptive actions. As a result, despite the deep winter chill, opposing troops, tanks and armoured personnel carriers are nearer to each other than they have been in the past four months.

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