Indian Army prepared for the long haul in Ladakh, resources along LAC upped

India has “substantially” reinforced its border areas and has prepared itself for the long haul at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in East Ladakh region where it is engaged in a military stand-off with China, official sources based in South Block told The Sunday Guardian. These sources said that “everything that is needed, will be needed and even more than that” has already reached the region in the last two weeks to face any eventuality that might arise in case China decides to up the ante and adopt an aggressive stand. “When we say we are ready, it is not a statement that we are making in thin air. Our ground situation, military wise, is very formidable now, something which China too has realised,” an official source said. According to these officials, who have first-hand knowledge of the ground situation, the tension on the ground is still there, but it has not “increased”, while adding that there is no danger to multiple assets in the Daulat Beg Oldie sector. “Many of the things (related to how prepared the Indian Army is) are not released to the media to avoid jingoism and other related situations that might decrease the elbow space for our diplomats who are already in discussion with their Chinese counterparts to defuse the crisis. In situations like this, a coordinated effort involving every arm of the government concerned is pressed into service,” the official said. The official added that two battalions of Chinese soldiers were camping on the Chinese side of LAC, while at least six more battalions, which were well inside the Chinese side and at a “good” distance from the LAC, have also been stationed by Chinese military strategists. These six battalions are accompanied by a “substantial” numbers of artillery guns, tanks and BMPs (a kind of infantry vehicle). According to officials, because of the large number of troops and armaments that have been stationed by India on its side, the logical conclusion, in case the Chinese decide to intrude into Indian territory, will be a massive flare-up, which then might take days to get resolved. “We are not going to take the first step, but we will also not be the first one to step back in case the situation comes to that. This confidence comes from the resources that we have at our hand now,” the official said. Separately, intelligence agencies are keeping a close eye on other regions where India shares it borders with China to make sure that the situation in Ladakh does not become a diversion to create “misadventures” anywhere else. The official said that “independent” satellite images being used by certain media organisations to give the message that China has entered Indian territory were “erroneous and based on lack of understanding of the ground situation”. “The LAC demarcation is not very clear in many parts of this huge region and it becomes difficult even for the men from both the sides, who are on the ground, to make a judgement call on which side is which. And that is also one of the reasons for the current situation. The Chinese have stationed their troops and machine near the LAC, no one is denying that. However, what these media outlets are describing as India’s side to substantiate their theory that China has entered our territory, is in fact the Chinese side of the LAC. The satellite images that they are using do not and cannot show the border demarcation. So how are they possibly deciding who has encroached and who has not?” the official asked. According to him, Indian troops on the ground were acting in a “restrained” manner so as not to vitiate the situation. “We have increased our patrolling in the region, which anyway was more substantial than China even in normal times, to make sure we get no ‘surprises’ from anywhere,” the official added.