A senior Indian government official told The Hindu that at least 10 patrolling points (PPs) spanning from the Depsang plains in the north to the Pangong Tso Lake in the south of Ladakh, along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) have been blocked by Chinese soldiers.
On Thursday, Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh during the Rajya Sabha session said, “China continues to be in illegal occupation of approximately 38,000 sq kms in the Union Territory of Ladakh.”
Singh also said that face-offs with the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) occurred because “patrols were interrupted.”
Indian soldiers usually tend to patrol the PPs after starting from their respective base camps, as the PPs are the endpoints along the LAC. There are over 65 PPs from the base of Karakoram to Chumar.
Since April, Indian troops have been denied access to PPs number 9, 10, 11, 12, 12A, 13, 14, 15, 17, 17A.
“Since the LAC is undefined, the PPs are the best way to assert territorial claims. With that access blocked by the Chinese and as per the disengagement plans in the past few months when buffer zones were created, many areas have become out of bound for the Indian troops as of now,” the Indian government official said.
Another Indian official stated that previously, Chinese commanders made unjustifiable demands asking India to leave an administrative post in Pangong and some heights near the Kurang nala.
The disengagement plan of June 30 agreed between the Corps Commanders of India and China stated that the two countries agreed to withdraw from all the points of clash and that “depth areas”, like the Depsang plains, where there is mass presence of Chinese soldiers, will be looked into.
However, till now the Chinese offence at Depsang has not been spoken about and none of the government statements mentions it.
“The areas currently blocked by the Chinese have always been patrolled by the Indian troops. In all the meetings so far, we have demanded the restoration of status quo ante before April,” the second Indian government official added.
Post the September 10th meeting between foreign ministers of both countries, S.Jaishankar and Wang Yi, where the two countries agreed on a five-point solution to cool tensions, there has been no talk on when the Indian and Chinese Corps Commanders will meet.
Tensions amid India- China first flared in May and later led to the border clash in Galwan Valley, Ladakh, in June which resulted in the death of 20 Indian soldiers. Since June, the Corps Commanders have met on five occasions.
On 29-30 August, Indian army accused China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) soldiers of making ‘provocative military movements’ on the southern bank of Pangong Tso, across the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in an attempt to alter the status quo, the Indian army had said in a statement.