A border move that will only bolster China

News:  Indian Army Chief, in a recent interview, said that out of the six friction points (in Ladakh), five have been solved.

Why the statement is a cause of concern?

Friction points which Army Chief talks about are Depsang, Galwan, Hot Springs, Gogra, North bank of Pangong Tso, Kailash Range, and Demchok. According to him, only Hot Springs or PP15 needs to be solved. This is worrying as he implicitly ruled out Depsang as an area to be resolved.

What is the importance of Depsang?

Depsang is an enclave of flat terrain that the Army classifies as Sub-Sector North (SSN). It provides land access to Central Asia through the Karakoram Pass. Army has identified the Depsang as a critical area and has devised plans to tackle the Chinese challenge. Daulat Beg Oldi provides direct access to Aksai Chin. This area allows the use of mechanized warfare.

SSN lies east of Siachen, in between Saltoro Ridge on the Pakistan border and Saser Ridge on the Chinese border. This is one place where physical military collusion between Pakistan and the Chinese military can take place and the challenges of a two-front war can become real. If India loses this area, it will be nearly impossible to launch a military operation to seize Gilgit-Baltistan from Pakistan.

It is also seen as a viable launchpad for a mechanized force-based military offensive launched by India inside Aksai Chin.

What is the India-China standoff at Y-junction?

The Chinese army has blocked Indian patrols since early 2020 at a place called Y-junction or Bottleneck, denying it access to five PPs: PP10, PP11, PP11A, PP12, and PP13.

Y-junction is around 18 km on the Indian side of the Line of Actual Control. Satellite images confirm Chinese deployments at the Y-junction: two PLA Ground Force camps with six infantry fighting vehicles split between two positions, while a small Indian Army forward camp is stationed 1.2 km west of the Y-junction.

Indian forward camp with permanent deployment was created after the 2013 standoff at Y junction. Though India stopped Chinese patrols, the Chinese managed to encroach 1.5 km (Burtse) in 2015. Earlier India had access to five patrol points which has been reversed since early 2020.

Since May 2020 the security establishment has tried to bury any discussion on Depsang, calling it a legacy issue. 2013 standoff was resolved diplomatically after negotiations led to a reversal of Indian forces and bunker construction on the Chinese side in Chumar while the PLA stepped away from the Y-junction.

Source: This post is based on the article “A border move that will only bolster China” published on 4th January 2022.