Both countries have stepped up military deployments as they face the most tense situation in 45 years along the Line of Actual Control along the Sino-Indian border. Pictured are Indian military vehicles. schematic diagram
Ten months after the India-China border standoff, heavy military vehicles and other vehicles deployed by the Chinese Communist Party troops at the standoff site in Ladakh have suddenly retreated backwards and are preparing for the second phase of withdrawal from the standoff site. However, some Indian experts warned that the Indian army should not be careless, because the Chinese communist forces have a record of retreating and then secretly turning back.
According to Indian media reports, the Indian Army released five videos and related photos showing Chinese Communist troops withdrawing from the Pangong Lake (Pangong Tso) area.
Unnamed Indian military planners and informed sources said the clips and photos show the withdrawal of Chinese Communist troops deployed in the Kailash Ranges on the northern and southern shores of Pangong Lake.
The clips show Communist troops removing tents, military bunkers and temporary fortifications constructed in the area with their bare hands and using excavators, as well as large vehicles such as military trucks and the withdrawal of troops.
An Indian military planner said the deployment of a large number of tank transports by Chinese Communist troops across the Rezang La and Karakoram Passes, respectively, as well as the frontline headquarters 90 kilometers from the Line of Actual Control between India and China, indicates that the Chinese Communist military plans to move to deeper areas of Xinjiang and Tibet.
He believes this is part of a plan to withdraw troops from the Sino-Indian Line of Actual Control in Ladakh, which is expected to end a 10-month-long standoff between Chinese and Indian forces.
A senior Indian official said that within 48 hours of the completion of the Bangong Lake withdrawal process, the two sides will check their withdrawal commitments against actual implementation at a 10th round meeting of senior military commanders.
But the two sides have not yet set a date for the 10th round of high-level military commanders’ meetings.
Retired Indian generals, including Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and former Indian Army Major General Ashok K Mehta, recently criticized India for giving the Chinese Communist Party an advantage by agreeing to its demand to withdraw its troops to a permanent base at Finger 3 on the north shore of Lake Bangong, giving up India’s claim to large swaths of land from Finger 4 to Finger 8.
They say this essentially allows the Chinese Communist Party to “invade 8 kilometers of Indian territory,” which is why it suddenly withdrew its troops 10 months after the India-China border standoff.
However, some Indian experts cautioned that India must still be careful to check whether the Chinese Communist forces are sincere in withdrawing from the standoff site, as they have a record of withdrawing from the site and then secretly turning back to deploy.
The picture shows Indian soldiers transporting supplies along the Sino-Indian border.
The new round of tense standoffs between India and China in the border area began in early May last year. Indian officials said at the Time that Chinese soldiers crossed three different border points in Ladakh, setting up tents and posts and ignoring verbal warnings to leave.
On June 15, the worst clashes between the two countries’ armies in 45 years erupted in the Ladakh region, with the Indian side claiming at least 20 Indian soldiers dead and the Chinese side never releasing the number of Chinese fatalities.
Indian officers showed photos taken by soldiers at the border, revealing that Chinese soldiers used wolfsbane (rusted steel welded with iron nails) to attack, while India responded with rocks and other weapons. Relations between India and China have since taken a sharp turn for the worse, with a total boycott of Chinese-made products and software by Indian officials and civilians.
Border tensions between the two countries escalated, and on September 7 gunfire was heard near the disputed Bangong Lake, with India and China accusing each other’s troops of firing warning shots into the air. It is believed to be the first time since 1975 that the calm along the border between the two countries has been shattered by gunfire, raising fears of a full-scale military conflict.
Meanwhile, both sides have been increasing their military deployments in the region. In response to the tensions, senior Indian and Chinese military commanders have held nine rounds of military chief-level talks since the conflict began.
In addition to withdrawing frontline troops, Singh said the two sides agreed to dismantle defensive facilities built on the northern and southern shores of Lake Bangong, according to a “disengagement” agreement on frontline forces reached during the ninth round of talks.
Indian Defense Minister Singh said Feb. 11 that the two sides agreed to meet again within 48 hours of full disengagement in the Bangong Lake area to resolve all remaining issues.
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