External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is meeting his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Moscow on Thursday to discuss the situation along the Line of Actual Control or LAC.
esday talked about harsh weather conditions in the area, fact is that Indian Army has been used to such conditions since Operation Maghdoot in Siachen in 1984. “ The Indian soldier is prepared for mountain and snow from the very beginning with virtually all of them serving either on the Line of Control with Pakistan, Siachen Glacier or the LAC,” said a military commander. The PLA on the other hand last bled in Vietnam in 1979.
The basic problem facing disengagement is that Chinese have road infrastructure right upto the LAC in Ladakh, while the Indian Army troops have to traverse mountain passes, nullahs and ridges to reach their current posts and positions. “If China is serious about disengagement and de-escalation, then both sides have to bilaterally commit that the other side will not occupy the heights once vacated by the present occupant. Only then will the disengagement be successful,” said a military commander.
In the past 27 years, the PLA have nibbled into the LAC with the Indian Army troops with their defensive mindset sticking only to the patrolling points (defined by the China Study Group), which fall well short of Indian perception line. However, the Indian Army’s posture has changed since the initial PLA transgressions in May. And this time, the Indian troops are not even willing to given an inch within their side of the LAC.