Inscription of “China” and map between “Finger 4” and “Finger 5”.
New Delhi:
In a disputed land claim, Chinese forces in the disputed Pangong Lake area of Ladakh inscribed a massive Mandarin symbol and a map of China on the ground they occupy.
The inscriptions, located between ‘Finger 4’ and ‘Finger 5’ are approximately 81 meters long and 25 meters wide and are large enough to be clearly spotted by the passing imagery satellites. Earlier this week, Wang Hajiang, general commander of Chinese forces in Tibet, was photographed repainting the figure of “China” in a border position along the Indo-Chinese border.
The “fingers” in the region refer to the spurs that extend to the shores of high altitude Pangong Lake. India believes that it has the right to patrol from “Finger 1” to “Finger 8” while China considers that it has the right to patrol from “Finger 8” to “Finger 4″. Currently, “ Finger 4 ” is the border between the two sides after violent skirmishes between soldiers of the two sides in May in which dozens of Indian soldiers were attacked with weapons such as wrapped batons barbed wire. The Chinese forces, deployed in large numbers to “Finger 4”, no longer allow Indian soldiers to patrol in the direction of “Finger 8”.
India-China: the confrontation site of Lake Pangong.
The images, acquired by GalacticGaming from Planet Labs, show a massive consolidation of Chinese forces in the region where Indian soldiers are prevented from patrolling after violent skirmishes in May in which dozens of Indian soldiers were reportedly injured.
At least 186 huts, shelters and prefabricated tents of different sizes are visible in the new images with the Chinese occupation zones not only along the lake shore but 8 kilometers along a ridge line that extends up to ‘to Chinese territory. A jetty with two Chinese rapid interceptors is visible near “Finger 5”. There is significant Chinese construction activity visible along ‘Finger 4’, but no clear evidence of Chinese progression to Indian positions between ‘Finger 1’ and ‘Finger 3’.
At least 186 Chinese prefabricated huts, shelters and tents visible between ‘Finger 4’ and ‘Finger 6’.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi indirectly spoke of Chinese aggression in the region on Sunday without naming Beijing directly. “Those who cast an evil eye on Indian soil in Ladakh have a suitable response. India honors the spirit of friendship. It is also capable of giving an appropriate response to any adversary, without fleeing.” On June 27, Vikram Mistry, said India’s ambassador to Beijing, “The resolution of this issue is fairly simple from our point of view. The Chinese side must stop creating obstacles and obstructions in the normal patrols of Indian troops. ”
Clashes between Indian and Chinese soldiers in the region are not uncommon, but never with the brutality observed this year. In the past, Chinese and Indian soldiers would conduct a banner exercise if they met. This would involve hoisting banners staking their claim on the area before the two parties disengage from each other and move away. The Wuhan summit between India and China in April 2018 was to reinforce a peaceful resolution of the clashes between soldiers on both sides. This should be based on “ the principle of mutual and equal security, and strengthen existing institutional arrangements and information sharing mechanisms to prevent incidents in border regions ”.
Two rapid interceptors visible on a quay near ‘Finger 5’ and significant construction activity at ‘Finger 4’.
As India and China hold a third round of military talks today in Chushul, Ladakh at the level of lieutenant generals, it seems clear that Wuhan’s spirit has been replaced by a completely different reality in Ladakh, where the India had to face several Chinese. trespassing through the disputed line of actual control in the region. The generals will seek to define the modalities of a mutual disengagement on the ground, but progress will depend on China’s acceptance to return to its positions before the tension in the region begins to intensify in April. Given the scale of the massive accumulation of Chinese in the region, the deployment of heavy weapons and Chinese construction activity in the disputed areas, New Delhi has not ruled out the possibility of a long summer to come up.
The Indian armed forces actively combated Chinese intrusions into Ladakh with a massive deployment of forces. GalacticGaming reports no details on the nature of Indian accumulation in the region.
