Indian Army to maintain troops at LAC for 5th successive winter amid 'trust deficit' with China: Report

India will be maintaining its forward deployment of troops at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) for the fifth successive winter. A senior source in the defence establishment told The Times of India that the troops will be deployed due to the persistence of trust deficit with China.

The military is going ahead with the full preparation to station the troops in the forbidding terrain of eastern Ladakh and the Arunachal Pradesh-Sikkim region. “The trust deficit on the ground with the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) remains very high,” the unnamed military source told TOI.

“The way China continues to strengthen its forward military positions as well as build ‘permanent defences’ and infrastructure all along the 3,488-km LAC, it is quite clear the PLA will not be returning to its peacetime locations in the near future,” the source added. The confirmation came as the Indian army transitioned from the summer to the winter posture.

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Winter stocking is currently underway

The army is currently involved in “winter stocking” as they prepare to deal with the harsh conditions in the region. As per the report, General Upendra Dwivedi and the commanders-in-chief of the force’s seven commands will review the operational situation at a meeting which is scheduled to be held on October 9-10 in Gangtok, Sikkim.

At a diplomatic level, there have been talks regarding a possible breakthrough regarding the military confrontation in Eastern Ladakh. Bilateral talks were held between Indian National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on the sidelines of a BRICS meeting in St Petersburg on September 12.

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However, animosities between the two nations still remain. “Disengagement at Depsang and Demchok, if it happens, will only be the first step. Till the subsequent de-escalation and de-induction of troops take place for restoration of status quo ante, the threat will remain,” a senior official told TOI.

“Even the buffer zones were meant to be only temporary arrangements. China continues to make unreasonable demands and is playing the long waiting game. India has to be careful about not falling into China’s trap,” the officer furthered. The official insisted that as the military stalemate between the two nations continues to persist, only political and diplomatic talks can break the deadlock.

“If the two sides agree to a broad framework, the actual disengagement modalities at Depsang and Demchok can be worked out at the military level,” the official explained. The Army, meanwhile, is maintaining a “high-level operational preparedness” to deal with any contingency.