Only 23 years of age, playful, the usual fun-loving Sikh , his boyish looks concealing the steely soldier who will never shy away from an unequal fight. Meet Gurtej Singh of 3rd Punjab’s ‘Ghatak Platoon’ who reinforced the beleaguered , outmaneuvered fighters of 16th Bihar regiment at Galwan valley on the evening of 15 June. But first take a ticket to heaven, where rests ‘chota phai Gurtej’ , blessed by the Almighty. He is not here with his paltan anymore and will not return to his family for his favourite ‘sarson da saag’ and ‘makkai di roti’. Honestly , it is very difficult for an emotional Bengali like me , also a military school product, to hold back tears as I write the amazing story of ‘chotaphai Gurtej’. As the fierce 3rd ‘Ghataks’ and the Sikh gunners of Medium Arty regiment rushed into the fight with very little time to plan and prepare on that Monday evening in the picturesque but blooded Galwan Valley , they were only carrying thei

Only 23 years of age, playful, the usual fun-loving Sikh , his boyish looks concealing the steely soldier who will never shy away from an unequal fight.
Meet Gurtej Singh  of 3rd Punjab’s ‘Ghatak Platoon’  who reinforced the beleaguered , outmaneuvered fighters of 16th Bihar regiment at Galwan valley on the evening of 15 June. But first take a ticket to  heaven, where rests ‘chota phai Gurtej’ ,  blessed by the Almighty.
He is not here with his paltan anymore and will not return to his family for his favourite ‘sarson da saag’ and ‘makkai di roti’.

Honestly , it is very difficult for an emotional Bengali like me , also a military school product, to hold back tears as I write the amazing story of ‘chotaphai Gurtej’.
As the fierce 3rd ‘Ghataks’ and the Sikh gunners of Medium Arty regiment rushed into the fight with very little time to plan and prepare on that Monday evening in the picturesque but blooded Galwan Valley , they were only carrying their customary kirpan and an assortments of sticks, rods and sharp knives.
Fellow fighters recall Gurtej being attacked by four Chinese soldiers. The strong Sikh, shouting his ‘Bole So Nihal, Sat Sri Akal’ war cries in a thunderous roar,  swung round two of them and as two others tried to pin him down, he dragged all four of them towards the cliff.
“All four Chinese were flung to death but Gurtej lost his balance and also slipped , but was stuck in a boulder , hence avoiding a free fall. Badly injured in the neck and head, Gurtej rewrapped his turban  and in a inhuman effort pulled himself back into the fight,” said a military source quoting a fellow fighter.
Gurtej slashed some  Chinese with his kirpan before he could snatch a sharp weapon from a Chinese soldier.
“Not only that one but seven other Chinese soldiers perished at the hands of Gurtej before one stabbed him from behind. Even as he went down , he slashed his killer with his kirpan,” said the military source.

At the end of the bloody fight, Gurtej lay dead but so were the 12 Chinese killed by them. As they say, ‘Ik Ik Akali Sikh sawa lakh de barabar” ( an Akali Sikh is as good as 1,25,000)
Gurtej’s body was dragged back by the surviving ‘Ghataks’. I have no access to his village to recount his cremation but knowing Sikhs so well from my childhood in Punjab, I am sure his proud parents will have tears in their eyes for him — but more tears of pride than tears of sorrow.
Gurtej Singh , the latest martyr or ‘Shaheed’  in an enormously crowded pantheon of Sikh heroes starting from Banda Bahadur , is a hero India is yet to know but will never forget once it did .

 https://theeasternlink.com/the-supreme-hero-of-galwan/

LETTER OF ALLOTMENT TO SMt B Santoshi w/o Late Martyr  Col B Santosh Babu 

Asia lost a decade to counter China. But India and Quad can lead new strategy nowAsia has a spaghetti bowl of regional security structures. A new pan-Asian strategy with India in the lead can help counter China’s belligerence.

In the next 20 years, China’s defence budget would grow from $14.6 billion or 121 billion Yuan at the turn of the millennium to $178 billion or 1.268 trillion Yuan by 2020. Given the opacity of Chinese defence numbers, independent estimates believe the figure to be much higher. In comparison, India will spend $65.86 billion, and Japan $47 billion in the current fiscal.

The Chinese defence ramp-up to protect its undefined core or fundamental interests set alarm bells ringing in influential Asian capitals in the early 2000s itself.

However, the US was distracted and deeply involved in the War against Terror post-9/11. Subsequently, its energies got further consumed with the invasion of Iraq and the growing entanglement in Afghanistan. Moreover, those were the heydays of globalisation and China was the factory of the world. So, there was a diffidence about pushing a security architecture that could affect global supply chains, which were filling the coffers of American and European conglomerates.

These inherent contradictions gave China a full decade to modernise the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) without any let or hindrance fuelled by double-digit growth in defence expenditure.

Also read: Pompeo cites Ladakh tensions, accuses China of playing ‘rogue actor’ around world

Cognisant of the increasing Chinese defence muscle, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe way back in 2006 proposed a security arrangement called the quadrilateral security dialogue, colloquially known as the Quad. It was a grouping of India, Australia, the US and Japan. However, the idea couldn’t fructify because Australia pulled out of it in 2007, apparently due to Chinese pressure during the John Howard and Kevin Rudd administrations. In 2017, however, all four came back to the negotiating table.

The first sign of China’s assertiveness came when the Chinese flexed their muscles over a fishing trawler being boarded for inspection by the Japanese Coast Guard near the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea in September 2010. This group of five uninhabited islands and three islets are under the administrative control of Japan but claimed by China and Taiwan, respectively.

Realising the portentousness of the Chinese threat, the Barack Obama administration in the US made two important decisions in 2011. On the economic side, it accelerated the negotiations on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and on the security side, it joined the East Asia Summit (EAS), colloquially called the Pivot to Asia or Rebalance to Asia. Strategically, it did not mean much as 50 per cent of American naval assets were already deployed in the Western Pacific Ocean.

By then it was too late as China increasingly started asserting its claim on the South China Sea based on the ambiguous nine-dash line much to the chagrin of other littoral states of the South China Sea, which also have competing claims to many of the islands and shoals claimed by the Chinese.

Also read: China’s expansionist approach is raising fresh challenges for it, from the US to EU

China’s belligerence

This belligerence acquired a new aggression after the triple-hatted coronation of Xi Jinping between November 2012 and March 2013. He was now the General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party, the Chairperson of the Central Military Commission and the President of the People’s Republic of China.

Tensions in the South China Sea have increased, compelling the US to launch repeated Freedom Of Navigation Operations — five in this year alone. 

The Doklam face-off on Bhutanese territory, One Belt One Road (OBOR) or Belt Road Initiative (BRI) aimed at global hegemony, and the confrontation with India on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) is the latest iteration of this pugnaciousness. In essence, China has become the proverbial bull in the Asian China shop and has to be reigned in. However, it would now require a Pan-Asian Security Architecture not confined to North/East of Asia alone to constrain China, given its military rise over two decades.

Also read: Doklam team of Jaishankar-Doval-Rawat let Modi down but he has an option

A new security structure

Asia has a spaghetti bowl of regional security structures spread across its various sub-regions. They are the ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM), ADMM+3, Asian Regional Forum (ARF), East Asia Summit (EAS), Five Powers Defense Arrangement (FPDA), Ulaanbaatar Dialogue (UBD), Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), to name but a few. China is also a member of a number of these organisations, and has been the driving force behind others like the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).

Here the Quad can emerge as the nucleus to create a pan-Asian strategic framework given that its four members share common values and have their own relationships, especially with the hydrocarbon exporting economies of the GCC.

Once it is clear to China that the Malacca dilemma can be extended to the Strait of Hormuz also and, therefore, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), the alternative logistics route from Gwadar to Kashgar, can be rendered inoperative, it would have a salutary impact on the Chinese — given the hydrocarbon dependence of its economy. Almost 78 per cent of Chinese energy needs are still fulfilled by coal and crude oil, most of which are imported from abroad.

Coupled with that, the Vladivostok-Chennai maritime corridor needs to be made operational by India and Russia to step up our presence in the South China Sea. The first and second island chains need to be aggressively patrolled by the US, with its allies denying the Chinese navy the ability to break out into open waters.

Given the lost decade when timely action could have constrained, if not contained, China, a pan-Asian security architecture underpinned by the Quad and a combination of initiatives are now required with dispatch.

The author is a Lawyer, MP, Former Information and Broadcasting Minister GOI, National Spokesperson, INC & General Secretary of the Foreign Affairs Department AICC. Views are personal.

I am Anirudh Shidganeh, Research Scholar at IIT Roorkee, Department of Humanities & Social Sciences.

My Grandfather and father were both Ex-Servicemen. This has motivated me to take up the topic of for PhD Research.

Annually, around 60,000 Military Personnel retire from Indian Armed forces. Every Ex-Servicemen experiences changes in their life after retirement in work, financial, family, health and  social domains of their life.

The research output will help to empirically document the transition and associated changes experienced by Ex-Servicemen from Indian Armed forces.

The strategies that are helpful can be utilised by other existing and future Ex-Servicemen to become aware and adjust more effectively with the transition changes.

The survey in the Google form link below is an attempt to explore the changes after retirement from the Armed forces , their impact on well-being of Ex-Servicemen and the coping strategies that help or hinder the individual to deal with the transition.

I would be very grateful to you if you could please fill the form. You may share it with other Ex-Servicemen colleagues to help me in data collection for this research on Ex-Servicemen from Indian Armed Forces.

Kindy click on the link below and fill the survey :

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Col S. Dinny (Retd), who commanded a battalion at LAC in 2017, says incursions were more of a message to India amid its construction activities there, and did not have any tactical significance.

The Chinese bid to change the status quo is “too obvious and too blatant to be allowed to remain like that”, Col S. Dinny (Retd) told ThePrint in an interview Tuesday, before it was reported that the two sides had decided to pursue step-wise de-escalation after 11-hour talks Monday.

“Pangong Tso is a hot area where the differing perception of LAC is very stark,” Dinny said, adding that it was a matter of strategy for the Chinese to never fix a claim line in Pangong.

However, Dinny added that the incursions were more of a message to India amid its construction activities in the area, and had no tactical significance. “I think the Chinese will go back eventually,” he said.

Also Read: India & China agree to step-wise de-escalation in eastern Ladakh, including Pangong

‘A message to India’

The Pangong Lake’s northern bank juts forward like a palm, and the various protrusions are identified as “fingers” to demarcate territory. While India asserts that the LAC is at Finger 8, the Chinese claim it starts at Finger 2, which India dominates.

During the Kargil battle, when Indian troops were diverted from the area to fight Pakistan, China had stepped in and built a motorable road until Finger 4, Col Dinny said. The Chinese side conducted patrols until Finger 4 in the subsequent years, but never built any structures in the area.

Since April 2020, however, the Chinese have come in by about eight km and built a number of structures between Finger 4 and Finger 8.

“The Indian stand is to get back to the status quo ante, which means that the Chinese will have to vacate. They will have to go back to their post in Sirijap as was in April,” Col Dinny said.

Asked what was the Chinese perception of the LAC, he said Beijing had never been clear about it. “At times they used to claim it was Finger 4, at times they used to claim it was Finger 2 and even Finger 3. This is part of the Chinese strategy. But they never patrolled beyond Finger 4 by land,” he said.

“There is no tactical significance to the Chinese coming down to Finger 4. It is primarily an assertion by the Chinese,” he said.

“The Chinese have mentioned infrastructure activity by India as a concern. I think the Chinese will go back eventually. They just want to assert themselves, claiming it is their area since it had built the road in 1999,” he said.

The Indians are in the process of building a road from Finger 2 to Finger 4 and the work had picked up pace in the recent past, sources said.

The India-China stand-off, simmering since early May, reached boiling point last week as soldiers on the two sides came to blows at the Galwan Valley in Ladakh.

Twenty Indian soldiers died in the clash, as did an unconfirmed number of the Chinese side. The two sides decided at a meeting Monday to avoid any repetition of a Galwan Valley-like clash, which marked the first time in 45 years that a soldier died at the LAC on account of clashes between the two Asian giants.

Also Read: Galwan clash is a turning point as Indian soldiers give Chinese a bloody nose

New guidelines exempt personnel from 14-day quarantine if they are asymptomatic & have not come into contact with a Covid patient in 14 days.

Soldiers who return from leave or temporary duties, or report for a new posting, will now be exempt from the mandatory 14-day quarantine unless a clear Covid-19 infection risk has been established.

According to the revised guidelines issued by the Directorate General of Armed Forces Medical Services Monday, exemption from quarantine may be considered if the personnel are asymptomatic and have not come into contact with a confirmed or suspected Covid-19 patient in the 14 days preceding their arrival at their base.

The guidelines cover all three branches of the military, the Army, the Navy and the Air Force. They were issued exactly a week after the clash between India and China at Galwan Valley in Ladakh that killed 20 Indian soldiers. It was reported Tuesday that the two sides have resolved to avoid a repeat of the Galwan Valley violence and decided to pursue step-wise de-escalation in Ladakh.

So far, members of three branches have been mandated to serve a 14-day quarantine following their return from leave and temporary duties, and while reporting for a new posting.

Speaking to ThePrint, a senior defence officer said, in the current scenario, there is always a requirement of having the maximum number of soldiers available for operational duties.

“On returning from leaves or other duties, the troops are in quarantine for 14 days. So, even though they are physically present, they are not available for operational requirements,” the officer added.

The revised policy was drafted on the recommendations of a board of officers after they reviewed the Covid-19 policies in place at a meeting. The recommendations of the board, sources said, were based on how the disease has evolved, evidence from global research, and the central government’s response to the pandemic.

Also Read: Covid blurs distinction between war and peace as soldiers worldwide fight the third army

Other conditions for exemption

The guidelines also suggest other conditions for exemption from quarantine: For example, if personnel have travelled from one station of duty to another without any halt in between, and used service transport or their own vehicle for the journey.

They can also avail of the exemption if they sign a self-declaration certificate validated by the commanding officer of their units.

The revised policy further says that testing will not be required for individuals before, during or after quarantine unless they exhibit symptoms. They state that temporary duties of less than seven days should be avoided unless absolutely urgent. Families or dependents of serving personnel will be quarantined on the basis of the policy in a given state, they add.

Another such concession was extended earlier this month to facilitate quick travel of the forces, in the days before the Galwan Valley clash. The Department of Military Affairs (DMA) allowed personnel stranded at various locations because of the limited transport available during the Covid-19 lockdown a one-time relaxation to use private airlines to get back to their units. The relaxation will be available for a month, until 10 July.

Also Read: Tough to ‘weaponise’ coronavirus, but can’t rule out attacks: Armed Forces Medical Chief

The Army chief reviewed the security situation in the region and also visited the soldiers who were injured in the clash with the Chinese army at Galwan Valley.

Gen Naravane, who arrived in Leh on a two-day visit to the region, also awarded Commendation Cards to a number of soldiers who fought valiantly during the recent face-offs with Chinese Army in the region, people familiar with the matter said.

The Chief of Army Staff reviewed the overall security situation in the region with Northern Army Commander Lt Gen Yogesh Kumar Joshi, commander of the 14 Corps Lt Gen Harinder Singh and other senior Army officials on Tuesday afternoon.

“General M M Naravane #COAS visited forward areas in Eastern #Ladakh and reviewed operational situation on the ground. #COAS commended the troops for their high morale and exhorted them to continue working with zeal and enthusiasm,” the Army said in a tweet.

Soon after arriving in Leh, Gen Naravane visited an Army hospital where 18 soldiers injured in the clash in Galwan Valley on June 15 are undergoing treatment.

Twenty Indian Army personnel were killed and 18 were seriously injured in the violent clash with Chinese military in Galwan Vally.

When asked about conferring of “Commendation Cards” by Gen Naravane, an Army source said “whenever the Chief of the Army Staff visits formations or units, it is a norm to award on the spot Commendation Cards to personnel who exhibit exceptional devotion to duty.”

“In the instant case also, personnel have been awarded for devotion to duty,” the source said. It is learnt that soldiers who have been awarded the “Commendation Cards” fought valiantly in the Galwan Valley clash.

The Leh-based 14 Corps is tasked to take care of security situation along the Line of Actual Control in the Ladakh region.

On Monday, Lt Gen Singh held a nearly 11-hour meeting with Commander of the Tibet Military District Maj Gen Liu Lin.

In the meeting, the two sides arrived at a “mutual consensus” to “disengage” from all the friction points in eastern Ladakh.

The first round of the Lt Gen talks were held on June 6 during which both sides finalised an agreement to disengage gradually from all the standoff points beginning with Galwan Valley.

However, the situation along the border deteriorated following the Galwan Valley clashes on June 15 as the two sides significantly bolstered their deployments in most areas along the 3,500-km de-facto border.

On Sunday, the government gave the armed forces “full freedom” to give a “befitting” response to any Chinese misadventure along the LAC.

The Army has already sent thousands of additional troops to forward locations along the border in the last one week.

The IAF has also moved a sizeable number of its frontline Sukhoi 30 MKI, Jaguar, Mirage 2000 aircraft and Apache attack helicopters to several key air bases including Leh and Srinagar following the clashes.

The situation in eastern Ladakh deteriorated after around 250 Chinese and Indian soldiers were engaged in a violent face-off on May 5 and 6. The incident in Pangong Tso was followed by a similar incident in north Sikkim on May 9.

Prior to the clashes, both sides had been asserting that pending the final resolution of the boundary issue, it was necessary to maintain peace and tranquillity in the border areas.

Also read: Asia lost a decade to counter China. But India and Quad can lead new strategy now

Indian and Chinese commanders have discussed that patrolling troops would not confront each other, and disengage in case of an eventuality.

Two meetings have so far taken place between 14 Corps Commander Lieutenant General Harinder Singh and his Chinese counterpart Major General Lin Liu, who is the commander of the South Xinjiang Military District, on 6 June and 22 June.

The second meeting happened after the death of 20 Indian soldiers, including the commanding officer of the 16 Bihar unit, in a violent face-off with the Chinese troops at Galwan Valley in Ladakh.

Between these two meetings, divisional commander-level talks also took place between the two countries.

During the corps commander-level meetings at Chushul-Moldo on the Chinese side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) — one lasted seven hours and the other nearly 11 hours — the military leaders of both sides discussed disengagement plans at the LAC as part of confidence-building measures and to reduce tensions.

In the first meeting, as reported by ThePrint earlier, India sought a return to the “status quo as of April” in Eastern Ladakh and a pullback of Chinese build-up at the LAC.

Also read: India & China have come to blows, will help them out: US President Trump

The protocols discussed 

Sources said the two sides discussed that troops patrolling the LAC would not confront each other, and stop approximately 100 metres away from each other and change their direction if required.

“This would avoid any physical confrontation, which may lead to further aggravation of the situation. If due to any unplanned action, there is an engagement, the leadership at all levels should be instructed to disengage immediately,” a defence source said.

“Similarly, in case of boats patrolling the Pangong Tso (lake) would also stay clear of each other and avoid banging into each other, as has been the practice at times,” the source added.

The same protocols would also apply to any vehicle-based patrols at the LAC. They could stop or turn away at a suitable distance, the source added.

While dismantling of any structures may not happen immediately, the sources said, the Indian side demanded there won’t be any further construction between Finger 4 and Finger 8.

The Pangong Lake’s northern bank juts forward like a palm, and the various protrusions are identified as ‘fingers’ to demarcate territory. While India asserts the LAC is at Finger 8, the Chinese claim it starts at Finger 2, which India dominates.

The Chinese have moved in by 8 km until Finger 4 and have stopped Indian patrolling teams from going ahead.

Temporary structures to be removed gradually

The defence source also said the military leaders of both sides have discussed that areas, where there is lesser or no ambiguity, would be cleared in the first phase and troops would pull back to a suitable distance.

It was also discussed that temporary structures will be removed in a gradual manner. Cordial meetings to ensure mutual coordination would be conducted by commanders upto the battalion level, the source added.

The modalities to resolve issues pertaining to the “friction areas” of Eastern Ladakh would also be worked out in a gradual manner, the source said, even as both the countries have agreed on “step-wise mutual disengagement”.

The timelines for the disengagement, however, are yet to be fixed.

Army sources had earlier said the corps commander-level talks on 22 June were held “in a cordial, positive and constructive atmosphere” and there was a mutual consensus to disengage”.

“Modalities for disengagement from all friction areas in Eastern Ladakh were discussed and will be taken forward by both the sides.”

Also read: Asia lost a decade to counter China. But India and Quad can lead new strategy now

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The images, dated 22 June, show massive increase in Chinese troops since Galwan Valley clash. That was the day when corps commanders agreed to disengage.

The new images emerged on a day when China launched a twin verbal onslaught against India, with its foreign and defence ministries blaming New Delhi for the deadly Galwan Valley clash on 15 June, and for violating bilateral agreements, international rules and provoking the clash.

Images via @Maxar of the #GalwanValley face-off point on 22 June 2020 show possible defensive positions being set up by #China, small walls, trench type areas have now appeared on site #IndiaChinaFaceOff

The satellite images of Galwan Valley, dated 22 June and put out by Twitter handle @detresfa_, which has been releasing images since the tensions began building in early May, show a massive build-up of China’s People’s Liberation Army troops since the 15 June clash, in which 20 Indian soldiers lost their lives near patrol point 14 on the Indian side of the LAC.

Image dated 18 June 2020 shows what the onground situation at the #GalwanValleyFaceOff point was 48 hours ago #IndiaChinaBorder

Although the Army is yet to speak officially on the latest satellite images, sources told ThePrint that the camps visible are on the Chinese side of the Galwan Valley, close to the LAC.

“The build-up is on the Chinese side and not on Indian territory. After the corps commander-level talks on 22 June, a decision has been taken to de-escalate in a phased manner, which will also include areas close to the LAC,” a source told ThePrint.

India and China agreed on “step-wise mutual disengagement” from all areas of friction in eastern Ladakh at Monday’s 11-hour-long corps commanders’ meeting.

However, the speed and time-table for de-escalation at each location will be different.

Sources maintain that the main problem area is Pangong lake, where the Chinese have come 8 km inside the LAC on the Indian side, and dug in at ‘Finger 4’.

Also read: How Indian troops chased the Chinese for a kilometre over LAC in Galwan on 15 June night

Show of strength in Depsang

Sources said another area where India and China have both increased deployment is the Depsang plains. The Chinese have deployed additional tanks and moved them slightly forward from their usual positions, but they are still away from the LAC.

Sources said when the crisis first broke out in early May, India had anticipated that China might flex its muscles in this crucial area, and carried out advance deployment.

When asked about inputs suggesting that some units of the PLA have actually moved a few kilometres into what is locally known as “bottleneck area” on the Indian side, Army sources said they “have no such reports”.

Meanwhile, another set of Army sources said the forward deployment by China is within territory controlled by them.

There had also been inputs that said patrolling by Indian soldiers to Patrol Point 11, 12 and 13 in the Depsang area had been challenged by the Chinese.

In April 2013, Chinese troops had crossed into the Indian territory and pitched tents for three weeks in Raki Nula, 30 km south of strategic air base Daulat Beg Oldi, before they agreed to pull out.

Also read: Want to help Indian soldiers at LAC? Stop spreading assumptions about Galwan clash

The development was first reported by news agency ANI earlier Wednesday.

The removal of the post was the trigger of the clash between the two armies that killed 20 Indian soldiers last week. Meanwhile, tensions are also brewing in Depsang, where the Chinese are believed to have blocked Indian patrols from going to Patrol Points 11, 12 and 13, an indication that the Chinese have transgressed into this area too.

The Army has officially not reacted to queries raised on the issue.

Following an understanding between the two sides after the clash at Galwan Valley, the Indians had pulled back from the area, which is close to Patrol Point 14, around half-a-kilometre from the Line of Actual Control (LAC), sources said. The Chinese were also supposed to do the same.

The issue, the sources said, was discussed during the Corps Commander-level talks held between India and China on 22 June, where the two sides had agreed to pursue step-wise de-escalation in the area.

The Chinese have laid claim to the area and said that the post is on their territory, the sources added.

Reports of what appears to be a fresh provocation from China come on a day when the country’s foreign and defence ministries issued statements blaming Indians for the 15 June clash and asserting that Galwan Valley belonged to them.

Sources told ThePrint that the Chinese want the Indians to limit their patrol to the confluence of Shyok-Galwan river, about 5 km into the LAC.

“It is a long haul. There will be lots of grey areas at every level,” a source told ThePrint when asked whether the Chinese are going back on the terms agreed during talks.

Also Read: 14-day quarantine waived for Army, Navy, Air Force amid India-China row, but riders apply

Tensions continue

China’s continued aggression at Galwan Valley comes even as it raises challenges for Indian patrol teams in the Depsang Plains, which also lie along the western sector of the Line of Actual Control (LAC), especially near Patrol Points 11, 12 and 13.

Sources said India and China have both increased deployment in the Depsang Plains, an area located close to the strategic air base Daulat Beg Oldi.

Earlier Wednesday, fresh satellite images had raised concerns of increased Chinese troop build-up at both Galwan Valley and Depsang.

The satellite images of Galwan Valley, dated 22 June and put out by Twitter handle @detresfa_, which has been releasing images since the tensions began building in early May, show a massive build-up of China’s People’s Liberation Army troops since the 15 June clash.

Although the Army is yet to speak officially on the satellite images, sources had told ThePrint earlier that the camps visible are on the Chinese side of the Galwan Valley, close to the LAC.

However, later in the evening, when asked specifically about the return of the Chinese observation post, sources confirmed that it had indeed come up.

Asked about the situation at Depsang, the sources said the Chinese have deployed additional tanks and moved them slightly forward from their usual positions. But they are still away from the LAC, the sources added.

Even so, the sources said, soldiers of the Peoples Liberation Army have moved a few kilometres into what is locally known as the “bottleneck area” on the Indian side and are sitting at heights, creating a threatening situation for Indian soldiers at Patrol Points 11, 12 and 13.

In April 2013, Chinese troops had crossed into Indian territory and pitched tents for three weeks at Raki Nula, 30 km south of Daulat Beg Oldi, before they agreed to pull out.

Also Read: In Ladakh’s Leh, people are caught between coronavirus and border tensions with China

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s ongoing visit to Russia is significant in several ways: it comes amid Sino-India border tensions that Russia, a common ally, seems keen to defuse; it’s the first foreign trip by a senior Union minister since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic in the country; and it offers India an opportunity to push for the timely delivery of the S-400 air defence missile systems. In October 2018, India had signed a $5-billion deal with Russia, disregarding the Trump administration’s warning that the pact could attract US curbs under CAATSA (Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act). In June last year, India had assertively told the US that it would go by its national interest while dealing with other countries, including sanctions-hit Russia.

Though Russia has been India’s all-weather friend for decades, strengthening bilateral cooperation and gaining diplomatic support are of the essence now in view of the Chinese muscle-flexing in eastern Ladakh. China has been Russia’s largest trade partner for the past decade or so. The two neighbours have come closer following the trade sanctions imposed by the European Union on Russia in 2014. Moscow is expected to walk a tightrope: it would stop short of antagonising Beijing, but at the same time want to remain in New Delhi’s good books. While building international consensus, India needs to convince countries like Russia to make China see reason and understand contemporary geopolitical realities.

Without mentioning the Galwan valley violence, India managed to convey a strong message to China during the virtual conference of the Russia-India-China (RIC) foreign ministers on Tuesday. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar stressed the need for respecting international law, recognising legitimate interests of partners, and bolstering multilateralism. With the Covid-ravaged US baying for its blood, China is running out of supporters in the international arena. Maintaining good relations with Russia could help China handle the crisis, but India — which is poised to play a key role in the post-pandemic world order — simply can’t be kept out of the equation. Covid-19, which is swamping India as well as Russia, gives both of them another pressing reason to work in tandem.