New Delhi: The stand-off between Indian and Chinese troops in Ladakh appeared to be turning serious with some reports suggesting that China is building bunkers at two places to prevent Indian troops from patrolling the disputed areas.
The two places are in the Galwan region and Pangong Tso, 110 km apart.
The Chinese army, the People's Liberation Army (PLA), is reported to have erected 100 tents in the Galwan Valley in the past two weeks and brought in heavy equipment to build bunkers.
According to reports, a large number of Chinese troops entered territory claimed by India at four locations including Patrol Point 14 (PP14) and Gogra post.
The Indian Army has rushed additional troops to the area.
This is not a usual confrontation between patrolling parties from two sides who usually disengage after short face-offs.
In Pangong Tso too, the Chinese army is reported to be building bunkers in a disputed area around finger 3 to stop Indian troops from patrolling the area. In Pangong, Indian troops patrol way ahead till the finger 8 area.
The Chinese army has also brought in additional boats to patrol the Pangong Tso river to build pressure on the Indian troops. Indian Army also is using boats to patrol the river.
India’s Army Chief Gen MM Naravane visited Leh on Friday to review the situation with the field commanders. However, he didn't visit forward areas.
The top military field commanders in Leh including the Northern Army commander Lt Gen YK Joshi, 14 Corps Chief Lt Gen Harinder Singh and other senior officers briefed the Army Chief on the LAC situation.
National Security Advisor Ajit Doval is monitoring the situation along with top military leadership.
Earlier this month in two separate incidents, Indian and Chinese troops were engaged in fist fights and stone-pelting in Sikkim and the northern bank of the Pangong Tso.
However, India downplayed these two faceoffs, saying that incidents of aggressive behaviour occur on the LAC and patrols normally disengage after local interaction and dialogue.
“In fact you are coming to know only about areas where face-offs have occurred but on a daily basis we are meeting at 10 other places where there is absolutely business as normal. It is only at one or two places this has happened,” Gen Naravane had said last week.
There were reports that last week Chinese troops detained and released Indian soldiers in Ladakh. However, the Indian Army denied that any patrol party was detained by the Chinese soldiers in Ladakh.
