India, China reduce some troops in `depth areas` |
As temperatures dipped in the upper reaches of the Himalayas, both India and China have progressively removed some troops from the “depth areas`` along the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh. However, there has been no de-induction of soldiers ranged against each other in an eyeball-to-eyeball confrontation on the frontlines. Defense Ministry sources said China has de-inducted around 10,000 soldiers from their training areas around 150 to 200-km from the LAC, with India following suit with a similar reduction from its depth areas. Despite freezing conditions, with temperatures even dipping to minus 30 degree Celsius at some heights, and oxygen deprivation in the high-altitude area, the operational situation still remains as grim as ever on the front in Pangong Tso, Chushul, Gogra-Hotsprings, and Depsang Plains. Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat and IAF chief Air Chief Marshal R K S Bhadauria, also visited eastern Ladakh on 11th January to take stock of the “operational readiness”, even as India handed over the PLA soldier to China who had inadvertently strayed across the LAC. According to sources, there has been zero reduction of troops on the frontlines and immediate depth areas. Both sides are frequently rotating troops at the heights to maintain their operational efficiency in the killing weather and terrain. The visits of Gen Rawat and ACM Bhadauria to the forward areas took place amidst no signs of any de-escalation in the ongoing military confrontation with China, which has entered its ninth month now.
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