Army gets combat-ready for long winter in Ladakh

New Delhi: After multiple failed efforts to de-escalate border tensions between India and China, the Indian Army is now gearing up to fight the cold weather as it started planning for winter deployment of troops and equipment.

According to reports, both the countries have at least 50,000 troops each that are backed by tanks, artillery and air defence vehicles along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). As both the Indian Army and Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) facing each other at the height of 5,800 metres on Finger 4, an apparent endurance test is set to take place this winter.

While the winter is expected to take the turn for worse after Diwali this year, the situation on all friction points is a stalemate with PLA accusing the Indian Army of upping the ante south of Pangong Tso on August 29-30 as a result of which their claimed withdrawal plans were scuttled.

The situation along the 1,597-km Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh continues to be tense but under control with a small detachment of Indian Army facing off a PLA detachment on Gogra Hot Springs or patrolling point 17 A. The situation on the north bank of Pangong Tso is that a small number of troops on both sides are at the Finger 4 height with PLA stationed behind finger 6 and Indian Army on finger 3.

There is no PLA presence on the ground level of PLA four or five but on the dominating height of Finger 4. On the southern banks of Pangong Tso, the Indian Army is dominating the Rezang la-Rechin La ridgeline on Kailash ranges with strong positions to defend the LAC despite PLA's presence on Black Top and Helmet with the Indian troopers in between the two at the saddle.

"The situation is that both sides are defending their positions but the ridgeline in the area is with the Indian Army," said a military commander familiar with the postures of the two armies. Although the Indian Army will have a new Ladakh Corps Commander in Lt Gen PG K Menon in place of Lt Gen Harinder Singh in October, the former is Colonel of the Sikh Regiment who dishes out the choicest Punjabi cuss words despite being from Kerala. He has a vast experience on the LAC as he was the brigade general staff (Operations) of the XIV Corps in Ladakh before commanding a division in Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh.