For PLA The Massive Winter Deployment In Occupied Ladakh and Occupied Tibet Turning Into A Nightmare
By
Colonel Awadhesh Kumar, Veteran
Both China and India have had several rounds of lengthy talks at various levels to resolve the current LAC issues. However indications are that it was still difficult to resolve all the problems, as both sides remain divided on many concrete issues.
These talks have involved military officers, diplomats and even political leaders at different levels since May and all have given out positive signals. Though all these talks have failed to stop fresh incidents after Galwan, from taking place in August and September. So both sides are preparing for NO PEACE NO WAR scenario, and continue their logistical and troop deployments along the LAC.
Indian Army is quite used to such deployments since long. Siachen and Kargil heights have by now given enough experience to HQ 14 Corps in Leh to face the winter conditions without much problem. However the Chinese military analysts are a worried lot as the winter approaches for the PLA troops on the Tibetan Plateau and the Cold deserts of Ladakh.
The Chinese military formations had moved in the guise of a military exercise, quite unprepared for a long deployment. Their plan was a quick salami bite of as much Indian territory as possible in Galwan region and few others. Thereafter withdraw at a few places. However the fighting at Galwan surprised the PLA completely and now they find themselves entrapped in their own web of deceit. The PLA has now been forced into a massive winter deployment. This is posing a big nightmare, as their logistics are very thin on ground and has a very long tail. Every thing has to be hauled from China across occupied Tibet and then up to LAC across occupied Ladakh. Even their strategic advantage over PangongTso has now vanished, with the Indian Army fully dominating the Moldo Valley by observation and if required can rain down devastating artillery fire on the Moldo garrison.
However The Chinese observers have said that they remained cautiously optimistic about the latest development in LAC issues between China and India, as they believe the latest military talks have sent a positive signal.
China and India have agreed to stop sending more troops to the LAC and will refrain from unilaterally changing the situation on the ground, and avoid taking any action that may complicate the situation. This has been agreed at the latest round of Military Commander-Level Meeting.
Senior Chinese and Indian commanders held their sixth round of the Military Commander-Level Meeting, during which the two sides had candid and in-depth exchanges of views on stabilizing the situation along the LAC in the China-India border areas, said the Chinese spokesperson.
The two sides also agreed to hold the 7th round of the Military Commander-Level Meeting as soon as possible, take practical measures to properly solve problems on the ground, and jointly safeguard peace and tranquility in the border area.
As per the Chinese,frequent high-level talks are a good sign, indicating the willingness of China and India to solve the current problems through dialogue, according to some observers, who remain cautiously optimistic for a major breakthrough during the new round of military talks. This clearly shows that earlier plans of the Chinese have misfired.
Long Xingchun, president of the Chengdu Institute of World Affairs, told the Global Times Tuesday that this does not necessarily solve the long-standing border disputes between China and India, but marks a critical step to prevent the current situation from escalating.
