More troops have been deployed along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) to protect the country’s borders amidst mounting tensions between India and China in eastern Ladakh.
Addition to Indian Army troops, Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) has also been deployed along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) to take control of the strategic heights overlooking Chinese position on the other side of the LAC.
Reportedly, there are nearly 5,000 ITBP soldiers posted in Ladakh and other major areas near the border from Sub-Sector North to the Sub-sector South in eastern Ladakh.
The ITBP troops were also involved in the recent operations along LAC to foil China’s attempts to alter the status quo. As Indian Army troops moved to dominate heights near the south of Pangong Tso, at least 30 personnel of Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) occupied new positions near the key Black Top area that oversees China in the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh.
According to the reports, ITBP jawans, passing through Phurchuk La Pass has now occupied strategic heights that were earlier unoccupied. ITBP, till now, was deployed in the areas only north of Pangong at Dhan Singh Post near Finger 2 and Finger 3 area. The Indian troops have fortified the Indian border by occupying heights that can be used to keep vigil China’s People Liberation Army’s posts.
Recently, the ITBP troops reportedly took on the Chinese troops head-on during the violent face-offs in the Pangong Tso lake and friction points along the eastern Ladakh sector.
ITBP chief visits LAC
Meanwhile, ITBP chief SS Deswal has spent six days near the LAC to review the readiness of the troops. Deswal also visited several forward ITBP positions from Daulat Beg Oldie to mountainous southern parts of Ladakh.
In his address to ITBP jawans last week, Deswal had said that extra vehicles will be provided for troop movement between border outposts. The thrust will now be on road construction by the government to limit travel on ponies.
The Indian Army, the ITBP, and Special Frontier Force (SFF) jointly hold dominating heights in the hills near Helmet Top, Black Top, Yellow Bump that oversee People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Post 42830 on its south and Digging Area and Chuti Chamla on its west.
Currently, ITBP has more than 39 permanent defense positions along the LAC and good numbers of ITBP personnel are present near Chushul and Tara border outposts. If need, extra companies are airlifted from Chandigarh, said a senior ITBP official.
The ITBP, which is a specialized mountain force, is deployed on border guarding duties from Karakoram Pass in Ladakh to Jachep La in Arunachal Pradesh covering 3488 km of the Indo-China Border.
India takes control of strategic heights along LAC at Eastern Ladakh
The Indian armed forces have successfully taken control of crucial strategic heights in both the northern bank and southern banks of the Pangong Tso Lake around the Chushul sector in Eastern Ladakh along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
Reportedly, the Indian troops took control of those heights in order to thwart attempts by the Chinese to take control of Indian territories.
On August 30, the Indian Army, aided by a Special Frontier Force unit, had captured the heights lying between the southern bank of the Pangong Lake and the smaller Spanggur Lake further south.
Indian troops had taken control of the dominating heights, connecting through a ridgeline along the LAC from the southern bank of Pangong Tso to Spanggur Tso till Chushul-Rezang La. Their positions extend up to Requin La, which overlooks the crucial PLA camp in Moldo, as per reports.
These locations, which are strategically important for India, overlook the Spanggur Gap, China’s Moldo Garrison, and also of Spanggur lake. From these tops, the Indian troops can keep a vigil on PLA troops that are deployed in the Chushul sector.
