Indian Army bolsters presence in strategic heights of Pangong lake
New Delhi: The Indian Army has further bolstered its presence in at least three strategic heights in the southern bank of Pangong lake in eastern Ladakh, days after foiling China's "provocative" actions to change the status quo in the area, government sources said on Wednesday.
Some "readjustments" in deployment of troops were also carried out on the northern bank of the Pangong lake on the Indian side of the Line of Control (LAC) as part of precautionary measures, they said. The situation in the area was said to be sensitive.
The sources also said another round of military talks between the two sides on Wednesday to defuse tensions in the area remained inconclusive. The talks lasted nearly seven hours.
The talks at the Brigade Commander-level on Monday and Tuesday also did not yield any tangible outcome, the sources said.
Sources said India has achieved tactical gains in eastern Ladakh in the last few days by occupying a number of strategically important hill tops and locations.
The enhanced deployment came in the wake of unsuccessful attempts by China to change the status quo in the region.
The two sides were earlier engaged in a confrontation on the northern bank of Pangong lake but it flared up for the first time on its southern bank, sources said.
At the military talks, the Chinese side conveyed its objection to India occupying certain strategic heights in the region, sources said.
But, the Indian delegation maintained that the heights are on the Indian side of the LAC, the sources added.
They said India wants to resolve the border row through talks, but at the same time it will effectively deal with any "misadventure" by China along the LAC.
In the wake of the Chinese attempts, the Indian Army has alerted all its frontline bases along the 3,400 km-long LAC to remain vigilant round the clock. India had rushed in additional troops and weaponry to all sensitive border areas including in Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim sectors after the Galwan Valley clashes which significantly escalated the tensions.
On Monday, the Indian Army said the Chinese military carried out "provocative military movements" to "unilaterally" change the status quo on the southern bank of Pangong lake on the intervening night of August 29 and 30 but the attempt was thwarted by the Indian troops.
External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava on Tuesday said the Chinese People's Liberation Army(PLA) was engaged in "provocative action" again a day earlier when the ground commanders of the two sides were holding talks to ease the situation.
