The Indian Army is holding around 30 dominating heights and other such terrain on the southern bank of the Pangong Tso, all of which were earlier unoccupied or partly held.
The move comes in the wake of the recent posturing by the Indian and Chinese troops along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh.
According to government sources, the heights include the Rezang La and Reqin La, both dominating the Spanggur Gap and covering Patrol Points 27 to 31. They also include the dominating heights of Black Top, Hanan, Helmet, Gurung Hill, Gorkha Hill and Magar Hill among others.
Most of these heights and dominating terrain features were unoccupied or lightly held by Indian Army troops before the standoff with China in eastern Ladakh began in early May this year, the sources said.
Since then, some of these areas have been gradually reinforced, while others have been occupied in the last few days as Indian forces pre-empted PLA activity on the southern bank of the Pangong Tso to “thwart Chinese intentions to unilaterally change facts on ground”.
The move, the sources said, will work in favour of India in case of a trade-off of territory or while sitting across the table.
Eastern Ladakh has approximately 1,600 sq km of disputed area, of which around 350 sq km is in the south of Pangong Tso. Another 1,250 sq km is disputed in the areas north of the lake, including around 1,000 sq km in the Depsang plains.
Former 14 Corps commander Lt. Gen. PJS Pannu (Retd) said the southern bank gives the Indian troops an advantage in terms of monitoring the activities in the northern bank. “There has been a hardening of military posturing in the southern bank, too, by the Chinese, given that Indian troops hold certain significant heights in the region.”
