China warns of countermeasure after Indian Army foils its PLA's moves on south bank of Pangong Tso

China on Monday said that it was taking “countermeasures” after the Indian Army foiled a fresh attempt by its People’s Liberation Army to push the Line of Actual Control westwards on the south bank of the Pangong Tso (lake) and occupy more areas of India.

Beijing countered the Indian Army’s allegation that Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) soldiers had made “provocative military movements” on the southern bank of the Pangong Tso with the intention of changing the status quo along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) – the de facto boundary between the two nations.

Senior Colonel Zhang Suili, a spokesperson of the PLA’s Western Theatre Command, rather issued a statement, accusing the Indian Army of crossing the LAC and trespassing into the territory of China. He urged the Indian Army to “immediately withdraw its troops to avoid any escalation in the situation”.

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Sr Col Zhang said that the move by the Indian Army had violated “the consensus reached in previous multi-level engagements and negotiations between China and India” and “stirred tension on the border”.

The Chinese PLA also asked the Indian Army to “strictly control and restrain” its front-line troops.

He said that the PLA was taking “necessary countermeasures” and would closely follow the developments to resolutely safeguard territorial sovereignty of China, as well as peace and stability in the border region with India.

The Chinese PLA’s latest move to transgress into India’s side of the LAC on the southern bank of the Pangong Tso came weeks after it dug in heels on the northern bank of the lake and declined to withdraw troops to restore the status quo in the area – thus stalling the process of disengagement it had agreed with the Indian Army to end the stand-off.

The PLA initially did thin out troops from the “Finger 4” on the northern bank of the Pangong Tso. It, however, held on to the area between “Finger 5” and “Finger 8” – an eight-kilometre-long stretch it took over after its stand-off with the Indian Army started in early May.

The PLA rather brought in more troops, built bunkers and observation posts, dug trenches, pitched tents and set up new prefabricated huts to accommodate additional soldiers, apart from deploying its navy unit with more speed-boats for patrolling on the lake.

The Chinese Army not only fortified its position in the entire stretch from “Finger 5” to “Finger 8”, but also occupied the ridgeline overlooking the “fingers” – thus effectively controlling an area of nearly 30 sq. kms. denying access to the Indian Army to places it regularly patrolled before the stand-off started three months ago.

The Indian Army is currently holding on to its position between “Finger 2” and “Finger 3” on the northern bank of the lake.

The spurs of the mountain range on the northern bank of the Pangong Tso jut towards the lake like the ‘fingers’ of the palm, with the “Finger 1” at the western end and the “Finger 8” at the eastern end.

China claims that the LAC, after cutting through the Pangong Tso, goes through the “Finger 4”. India, on the other hand, claims that the line goes through the “Finger 8”.

The Indian Army earlier regularly sent patrols from its Maj Dhan Singh Thapa post near “Finger 3” all the way up to “Finger 8”. But the soldiers of the two nations had a scuffle near “Finger 4” on May 5. The PLA later built bunkers and observation posts and deployed additional troops in the area, thus denying access to the Indian Army to its earlier patrolling limit – the “Finger 8”. The Indian Army too deployed additional troops in response to the PLA build-up and the stand-off started and spread to other areas along the LAC.

That China dug in its heels in the ‘finger’ areas on the bank of the Pangong Tso was evident when its envoy to India, Sun Weidong, asserted the communist country’s claim on the entire stretch. “On the northern bank of Pangong Lake, China's traditional customary boundary line is in accordance with the LAC. There is no such (thing) as China expanded its territorial claim,” Sun said while responding to a question during a webinar hosted by Institute of Chinese Studies in New Delhi on July 30.