Troop deployment, infra build-up at LAC new normal

Ajay Banerjee

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, January 8

More than 18 months into the military stand-off with China at the LAC, it is estimated the deployment of troops, military-related infrastructure, weapons, tanks and guns along the 3,488-km LAC will be the new normal.

The Indian side is clear that there can be no third-party intervention in the India-China talks. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh have met their Chinese counterparts abroad, notably in Russia in September 2020, but no intervention has been welcomed or allowed. That stance will continue. The ongoing talks notwithstanding, matters at the LAC could take a turn any way, even move towards a lingering and constant deployment by both countries, as per an assessment in security circles. The newly created infrastructure comprising roads, bridges, expansion of airstrips, shelters from fighter jets and military bases will not go away. It will remain at the LAC and so will be the new dual-use villages made by China close to the LAC on its side. All this means ability to quickly deploy by both sides.

India-US 2+2 talks likely in March

• The India-United States 2+2 dialogue that was first scheduled in December last year may not take place till March.
• The dates for the talks were pushed back from the first week of December to the ‘third week’ of January.
• It is now expected that the talks will be held in March

China is just not keen on demarcating the LAC and defining a border and till that is done a long-standing resolution will not be possible. The LAC is undefined and undemarcated. The Chinese have dithered on its alignment on ground. Commanders of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) have been shifting goalposts even for the existing pullback from the LAC.

The military commanders are slated to meet on January 12. The agenda will be pullback from the military posturing along the 832-km LAC in eastern Ladakh. The existing impasse is over PP 15, also referred to as Hot Springs, besides Depsang Bulge, a 972-sq-km plateau.

India wants a three-step process to be followed. The first is disengagement from areas where troops are within close proximity. The next two steps, de-escalation and de-induction, would entail pulling back troops and equipment to the pre-April 2020 levels. Till that is agreed upon and complied, it cannot be assumed to be business as usual.