17 Feb Looking ahead after the Ladakh walk back
India and China border Issues:
- three sites of contention on the Ladakh border -> Depsang, Gogra-Hot Springs and Demchok.
- north bank of Pangong lake-> Most of chinese transgressions on the LAC between 2014 and 2019
- It has a very limited strategic importance but popular tourist spot
Considering indian withdrawal from LAC
- in the whole LAC in Ladakh
- Questions arise about the wisdom of giving up the only leverage India had at the north bank.
strategic importance of the Depsang plains
- Near to Karakoram Pass
- It enhancesIndian control over the Siachen glacier.
During this Disengagement:
- India and China agreed to create a ‘no patrol’ zone or buffer zone as a solution to the tensions on the LAC.
- Before the buffer zone -> at the north bank of Pangong, a similar buffer zone was created in Galwan in July 2020->where India lost 20 soldiers in a deadly clash.
- That buffer zone is good till date, even though it denies India access to the areas up to PP14 which was patrolled by India earlier.
- But the issue is these buffer zones would lie majorly on the Indian side of the LAC, thus converting a hitherto Indian-controlled territory into a neutral zone.
Source- The Hindu
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Plutus IAS Current Affair Team Member
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