Intelligence inputs suggest the Chinese army is building its military infrastructure at a rapid pace in the “occupied zone” inside India-claimed lines in the Depsang Plains and has fortified its positions at multiple transgression points in eastern Ladakh, sources in the security establishment said on Friday.
“Recent ground reports suggest that the Chinese army has accelerated the pace of its infrastructure development projects inside India-claimed lines in the Depsang Plains and have strengthened its military positions at other transgression points,” a security official attached to the Union home ministry told The Telegraph.
“The People’s Liberation Army is building additional highways and roads in the Depsang Plains and it has also sped up the construction of military infrastructure along the north and south banks of the Pangong Lake within India-claimed lines in eastern Ladakh,” the official said.
With no resolution to the ongoing border standoff since May 2020 in sight, sources said, the Indian Army has also ramped up its military posts in the mountainous terrain and has made mirror deployment to tackle any Chinese misadventure and provocation.
China has so far refused to disengage from occupied territory in the Depsang Plains while agreeing to “partial” disengagement on its own terms from the Galwan Valley, Pangong Lake, Hot Springs and Gogra.
As part of the disengagement agreement, both armies have retreated by an equal distance by creating a buffer zone, with the Chinese still entrenched within India-claimed lines and the Indians stepping back within their own territory — triggering charges of “ceding further land” to China.