There could be more clashes between Indian and Chinese troops in Ladakh as Beijing has ramped up its military infrastructure in the region, Reuters reported.
The report claimed to be part of a new, confidential research paper by the Ladakh Police that was submitted under the ‘Security Issues Pertaining to Unfenced Land Border’ theme at a conference of top police officers recently.
The conference organised by the Intelligence Bureau (IB) from January 20-22 was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
MORE CLASHES IMMINENT
An assessment based on intelligence gathered by local police in the border areas and the pattern of India-China military tensions over the years suggests that there will be more skirmishes between the two nations in Ladakh, Reuters reported.
At least 24 soldiers were killed when Indian and Chinese troops clashed in Ladakh in 2020 but tensions eased after military and diplomatic talks. A fresh clash erupted between the two sides in December in Arunachal Pradesh but there were no deaths.
“Given the domestic compulsions in China and their economic interests in the region, the PLA would continue to build up its military infrastructure and skirmishes would also get frequent which may or may not follow a pattern,” the research paper said. PLA stands for People’s Liberation Army.
“With the massive infrastructure build up by PLA on Chinese side both the armies are testing each other’s reaction, strength of artillery and infantry mobilisation time. If we analyse the pattern of skirmishes and tensions, the intensity has increased since 2013-2014 with an interval of every 2-3 years,” the paper said.
NO PATROLLING AT 26 POINTS ALONG LAC
The Reuters report comes days after it was revealed that the Indian armed forces’ presence is lost at 26 patrolling points (PPs) of the total 65 PPs – starting from Karakoram pass to Chumur – along the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh due to “restrictive or no patrolling.”
“This leads to a shift in the border under control of ISFs towards the Indian side and a “buffer zone” is created in all such pockets which ultimately leads to loss of control over these areas by India. This tactic of PLA to grab land inch-by-inch is known as “Salami slicing”,” the paper stated.
This was also part of the research paper presented during the conference.
It also pointed out that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army has taken advantage of the buffer areas in the de-escalation talks by placing the best cameras on the highest peaks and monitoring the movement of our forces.
INDIA-CHINA MILITARY TALKS
India and China held a fresh round of talks in December on the eastern Ladakh border standoff but there was no indication of any forward movement in resolution of the remaining issues.
Both sides exchanged views in an “open and constructive” manner to resolve the “relevant issues” and that it was agreed to maintain “security and stability” on the ground in the region, a statement read.
The 17th round of high-level military talks took place 11 days after the clash at Yangtse area in the Tawang sector of Arunachal Pradesh and lasted for 10 hours. India is said to have insisted on resolving outstanding issues at the remaining friction points of Demchok and Depsang in eastern Ladakh as soon as possible.