An army truck heads towards LAC amid India-China border dispute in eastern Ladakh at Leh. File | Photo credit: PTI
In 2023, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) adopted more coercive operations in the Indo-Pacific region and accelerated the development of its capabilities and concepts to strengthen China’s ability to “fight and win” against a “stronger enemy,” the annual report said. The US Congress has said that China has not withdrawn its military presence and standoff along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). In 2020, India also witnessed significant and sustained growth in military infrastructure.
“The primary focus of the Western Theater Command (WTC) is to secure the People’s Republic of China (PRC) border with India. In recent years, differing views on border demarcation between India and the PRC have facilitated numerous skirmishes, force buildups and military infrastructure,” the PRC said. The 2024 Report to the US Congress on Military and Security Developments stated the developments. Along the LAC since the impasse.
Referring to the violent clashes in Galwan in June 2020, the report said the PLA “has not reduced its position or troop numbers since the 2020 clashes and has built infrastructure and support facilities to maintain multiple brigade deployments in the LAC.”
“These engagements coincide with a significant and sustained increase in military infrastructure to support a long-term presence in the LAC,” the report said, referring to developments in the LAC since the standoff.
In November, India and China agreed to resume patrols from Demchok and Depsang in eastern Ladakh and return to the pre-April 2020 status quo, the last two friction points of the 2020 standoff.
Noting that since 1998, the PRC has resolved 11 land-based territorial disputes with six of its neighbors, the report noted that over the past decade, the PRC has adopted an “increasingly coercive” approach to resolving disputes over maritime features and rights. Potentially rich offshore oil and gas deposits, and frontier areas.
On overall readiness, the report observed that the PLA continues to improve the methods and standards of training of combined arms units. “Training ranges from individual to mass military events that integrate reconnaissance, infantry, artillery, armor, engineers, and signal units,” it said, adding that apart from continuous deployments along the Indian border and Myanmar, the PLA has conducted several large-scale exercises. in training areas across the country. To this, the report added that in 2020, PLA special operations forces were deployed from the Tibet Military Region following a standoff along the border with India.
published – December 19, 2024 at 11:07 pm IST