The Indian military brass is believed to have told a parliamentary panel that the forces are ready for a long haul along the Line of Actual Control with Chinese troops having strengthened their positions at multiple friction points in eastern Ladakh.
“The top brass led by Chief of Defence Staff Bipin Rawat has said that the disengagement and de-esclation between the two sides may take a long time and the forces are prepared for deployment in the harsh winter to counter Chinese aggression,” said a government official.
The chief of defence staff and other senior military officers have briefed the parliamentary panel on defence on the Chinese aggression along the LAC, the official said.
Since the standoff began in early May, the Chinese have deployed nearly 40,000 troops along the LAC.
So far, five rounds of military talks at the corps commander level between the two sides since June 6 have failed to break the logjam.
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army is yet to show any sign of relenting or backing off from the areas that India used to control, including the Pangong Lake and the Depsang Plains.
Beijing’s latest claim on Pangong Lake areas have triggered a scare in India’s security establishment, and also among military veterans, who fear the Chinese are trying to establish “a revised status quo” in the region.
Recently, a physical verification conducted by the Indian Army suggested that despite the claims of disengagement by the PLA, the Chinese troops were still very much present inside territory India claims as its own at the Pangong Lake, Hot Springs and the Depsang Plains.
Besides hindering patrolling by the Indian Army at multiple points, the Chinese forces have made offensive deployments along the LAC and brought in tanks and artillery guns.
India has made mirror deployments at the friction points to counter the Chinese threats.