China Quietly Makes Troop Positions Stronger In Eastern Ladakh Breaking The September Pact With India

The Chinese army has gradually increased troop numbers at the friction points along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and consolidated its positions in violation of the September pact with India.

With this, a crucial confidence building measure proposed by the Chinese Army in order to defuse tensions in eastern Ladakh has been violated by the Chinese side, reports India Today.

After a round of talks last September, India and China had issued a joint statement according to which they "agreed to earnestly implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, strengthen communication on the ground, avoid misunderstandings and misjudgements, stop sending more troops to the frontline, refrain from unilaterally changing the situation on the ground, and avoid taking any actions that may complicate the situation."

Shiv Aroor writes that the recent Chinese violation has left the most crucial confidence building measure “practically useless” and now Indian Army has had no choice but to mirror the gradual build-up on the Chinese side.

“In some sectors, foreseeing fresh Chinese concentrations, the Indian Army has conducted preemptive actions. As a result, despite the deep winter chill, opposing troops, tanks and armoured personnel carriers are nearer to each other than they have been in the past four months,” he says.