Indian and Chinese soldiers Patrol Point (PP) 17a. get off Near the Gogra Post, both sides have followed the template from last year to detract from the previous points. However, the details of a temporary no-patrol zone vary from location to location.
What is a ‘no patrol’ or ‘buffer’ zone? line of actual control (LAC) between India and China, and what is its significance in the present scenario?
What is No Patrol Zone?
When two forces are separated by a point where they are in front of each other’s eyes or close to each other, one way to prevent a new face-off is to create an area in which both Soldiers from the side are not allowed. fixed length of time. As the name ‘No-Patrolling Zone’ suggests, that area becomes a zone where no side is allowed to patrol.
Between India and China, the idea of a no-patrolling zone can be traced back to the 1962 border war. After China declared a unilateral ceasefire on November 21, 1962, it pulled its troops back 20 km from what it was supposed to be. of the LAC on November 7, 1959. So, China created a sort of buffer zone from where its forces were spread to the location of the LAC, according to that.
Recently, this concept was used by India in 2013. Chinese troops had pitched a field in the Depsang plains, and India was negotiating to end the face-off. As part of an understanding to end the Depsang standoff, India temporarily suspended patrols in an area further south but within eastern Ladakh, known as Chumar. To resolve another impasse, in 2014 also, again patrolling in Chumar was temporarily suspended.
In this September 2017 photo, a banner put up by the Indian Army stands near the Pangong Tso lake near the India-China border. (AP Photo/Manish Format, file)
Why is patrolling necessary?
In the case of an uncertain border between India and China, where the two countries do not agree on the alignment of the LAC in places, forces patrol the area to establish their control over the area.
The patrol point for India is known as the China Study Group (CSG), a secretary-level official group that is the sole advisor to the central government on matters relating to China.
There are more than 60 patrolling points in Eastern Ladakh. In some cases these points are marked on the map; In others, specific geographic features serve as traditional patrol points.
There are patrolling points on the LAC at all places except the grounds of Depsang. The extent of patrolling in Depsang is largely within Indian territory from the LAC.
In the years since 1975 when the CSG was established, the extent of patrolling has been modified to the advantage of India; However, they remain quite west of the LAC.
Until last year, there were two areas, Demchok and Trig Heights, which both sides agreed were disputed in the area. There are 10 other points in eastern Ladakh where the two countries have a different perception of the LAC. In addition, five friction points emerged last year: PP14 (Galwan), PP15 (Hot Springs), PP17A (Gogra Post), Rejang La and Rechin La.
Where are the no-petrol zones?
From last year, PP17A will become the third area where Indian troops patrolled before the standoff began in May 2020, and will no longer do so, at least temporarily. The first such no-petrol zone was created in the Galwan Valley since last year.
On June 15, 2020, some Indian soldiers went to clear a Chinese observation post that had come near PP14. There was a dispute over this matter which turned violent. While India lost 20 soldiers in the face-to-face fighting, China, after initially saying nothing on the casualties on its side, eventually claimed to have lost four.
Soon after, both sides agreed to retreat, to prevent another flare-up in the Galwan Valley, where tensions were still high. On each side, forces were allowed to keep about 14 soldiers at a distance of about 1.7 km from PP30, and another 50 soldiers were allowed to retreat a kilometer further.
In February, India and China agreed to secede from the northern and southern coasts pangong tso Where, in some places, soldiers and tanks were barely a few hundred meters away. The region had seen unprecedented winter deployment.
On the south bank, in the Chushul sub-region, both sides sat on previously unoccupied peaks of the Kailash range. On the northern bank of Pangong Tso, China had descended into the deepest, and Chinese troops were perched on the peaks above the spur known as Finger 4, 8 km west of India’s perception of the LAC at Finger 8. Is.
As part of the disengagement, Indian troops withdrew to their Dhan Singh Thapa post west of Finger 3, while China destroyed all its infrastructure between Finger 8 and Finger 4, and moved its base east of Finger 8. Went to the traditional post. The area between Finger 3 and Finger 8 has remained a no-petrol zone since then.
Announcing the dissolution, Defense Minister Rajnath Singh said in Parliament that “similar action will be taken in the South Bank area by both sides”.
“These are reciprocal and reciprocal steps and any structures created by the two sides in both the North and South Bank areas after April 2020 will be removed and landforms will be restored. It has also been agreed to temporarily stop military activities by both sides in the North Bank, including patrolling in traditional areas. Patrolling will begin only when the two sides reach an agreement in the subsequent diplomatic and military talks.
Are they repeated exactly everywhere?
No. According to senior government officials, a number of factors come into play in how this sector is determined.
“You can’t keep it right. It is dictated by what infrastructure you have at any point in time,” said a senior military officer. Replication, he said, cannot be done blindly, because at a particular point But both sides can have a conventional permanent structure within the limits set for another point, beyond which they will not go.
“PP14 we covered a certain distance,” he said, so that “there would be no linkage between the troops, which could lead to a bad situation”. But even then, the forces needed to be able to sit in one place and keep the area under surveillance. He said a “viable state” has to be reached from where the essential functions of observation and communication can be performed.
“The distance varies due to strategic reasons. A wide band is fixed; Then you come to the point that here we will follow it, there we will follow it. He said that through separation, you are physically creating distance between the soldiers so that there is no confrontation of any kind.
Is the ban on patrolling permanent?
Indian officials have claimed several times that the suspension of patrols is not permanent, and that India has not relinquished its right to patrol those areas. However, patrolling from both sides has been stopped till the standoff in eastern Ladakh is over. This means not only separation from friction points, but also de-escalation.
The de-escalation means that both sides will withdraw additional troops deployed in the region since last year. Since last year, the two sides have around 50,000 troops with additional armored columns, artillery and air defense assets as tensions peaked.
However, while sources in the defense establishment are hopeful that the PP15 face-off will also be resolved through talks, Depsang could turn out to be a major hurdle. While the Indian government does not consider Depsang to be a friction point, China is preventing Indian troops from reaching its conventional patrolling limits on PP10, PP11, PP11A, PP12 and PP13. Chinese troops stopped Indian troops from moving east of the area called Bottleneck, which is about 18 km inside the LAC.
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