New Delhi: India and China have hardened their stance on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh, going by increased military activities on both sides of the boundary, infrastructure development, surveillance and combat manoeuvres by their armies in the midst of the ongoing border standoff in the sensitive sector, China watchers said on Sunday, four weeks after military talks to cool Ladakh tensions reached an impasse.
Military talks are unlikely to result in a breakthrough and only higher intervention can show the way to resolving the 18-month-old border crisis, said one of the people cited above. The Indian Army’s activities in the sector are in response to the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) actions and countermeasures have been taken to stay ready for any contingency, said a second official.
Despite two rounds of disengagement at friction points on the LAC this year, the two armies still have 50,000 to 60,000 troops each and advanced weaponry deployed in Ladakh. In a report released last week, the US defence department said Beijing was taking “incremental and tactical actions to press its claims” at LAC, despite participating in talks to resolve the crisis.
It is quite obvious that positions on both sides have hardened and the statements from India and China after the 13th round of military-level talks are a clear indication that finding common ground is difficult, said former Northern Army commander Lieutenant General DS Hooda (retd).
“Any breakthrough in the deadlock will now have to come at the political and diplomatic level. However, it is uncertain whether there is a desire in either country to undertake such initiatives at this stage,” he added.
PLA did not agree to suggestions made by the Indian Army at the 13th round of talks on October 10. The Indian Army said it made constructive suggestions for resolving the remaining areas but the Chinese side was not agreeable and also could not provide any forward-looking proposals, while China accused India of unreasonable and unrealistic demands in an unusually aggressive statement.