People familiar with the developments said on Tuesday that India is keeping an eye on Chinese military manoeuvres in the Ladakh-Tibet theatre, including land and air drills, even as the two sides negotiate a complex disengagement process to pull back their front-line troops and weapons from friction points in eastern Ladakh.
According to one of the officials cited above, the Indian military has been tracking recent air drills involving a squadron-plus of Chinese fighter jets (over 18 aircraft) and is also keeping an eye on Chinese training areas that are 1,000 km to 1,500 km from the contested Line of Actual Control (LAC).
“The Chinese military has been carrying out training drills and activities in their depth areas. We also carry out training activities on our side,” said another official.
The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) continued to base its troops and mechanised elements in its “immediate depth” across the LAC, from where they could be deployed to forward areas at short notice, according to army chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane on May 28. (In the Ladakh sector, immediate depth refers to a distance of 150 to 200 kilometres from the LAC.)
Both armies have 50,000 to 60,000 troops in the Ladakh theatre, and their deployments have not shrunk since the Pangong Tso sector disengagement.
More than a year ago, the Indian and Chinese armies began talks to resolve the border dispute, but the two sides have only had limited success in reaching an agreement on the disengagement of rival soldiers stationed at flashpoints.
Since June 6, 2020, the Indian Army and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army have held 11 rounds of talks between corps commander-ranked officers to de-escalate tensions along the disputed border.
