The Tribune – China has built 5-km road crossing Line of Actual Control (LAC).

Leh, May 26. India and China may have announced an end to their 20-day stand-off in Ladakh sector, but the situation has not entirely settled down judging from a recent incident when the Chinese intercepted an Indian Army patrol and prevented it from going to Line of Actual Control (LAC).

The incident took place near Finger-VIII area, also known as Siri Jap, on May 17, two days before Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang arrived in New Delhi after it was announced that the stand-off resulting from a 19-km-deep Chinese intrusion had ended. It was claimed that the intruding Chinese troops had gone back to their previous positions.

While the Udhampur-based Army spokesperson refused to comment on the incident, official sources said there was a brief stand-off at the Finger-VIII area after which the Army patrol returned without proceeding to the LAC.

The sources said after the incident all patrols were stopped by the Ladakh-based 14 corps, including the one proposed to be sent in Depsang plain, where the Chinese Army had pitched tents for nearly three weeks beginning from April 15.

China has managed to construct a road up to Finger-IV area which also falls under Siri Jap area and is 5-km deep into the LAC, the sources said.

Chinese claim in their maps that this area falls under its area where as Indian Army has been claiming it to be part of Ladakh and have often cited the 1962 war when armies of both the sides fought bitter battles in this area. Major Dhan Singh Thapa was awarded Param Vir Chakra for fighting the PLA in the area.

However, as the Indian side was trying to back its claim at the negotiating table, the Chinese Army constructed a metal-top road and claimed the area to be part of Aksai Chin area, the sources said, adding many a time, the Indian Army has used the same road to patrol the area and lay claim over it.

The Chinese intrusion in the remote Daulat Beg Oldi sector on April 15 appears to have been triggered by construction of an observation tower in Chumar division.

The Chinese side, according to the minutes of the flag meetings held as late as in the last week of March this year, had been objecting to the construction of the watch tower along the Line of Actual Control in Chumar division, 300 km from here.

After the announcement that the stand-off has been resolved, Indian security patrols in certain areas such as Rocky Knob have been curtailed, the sources said.

Chumar, a remote village on Ladakh-Himachal Pradesh border, has been an issue for Chinese which claim it to be its own territory and have been frequenting it with helicopter incursions almost every year.

Last year, it dropped some of the soldiers of PLA in this region and dismantled the makeshift storage tents of the Army and ITBP.

This area is not accessible from the Chinese side whereas the Indian side has a road almost to the last point on which the Army can carry a load up to nine tonnes.

There appears to be some lack of coordination among various Indian defence forces. The Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) has complained to the Union Home Ministry that they had been kept out of the May 5 flag meeting with the Chinese by the Army when the decision to withdraw forces on both sides was taken. (PTI)

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2013/20130527/main4.htm

The Tribune – Now, China’s copters violate Indian airspace in Ladakh; Drop food, cigarette packets, notes India plans more permanent posts along LAC

Ajay Banerjee & Ashok Tuteja, Tribune News Service

New Delhi, April 24. Close on the heels of Chinese troops entering the Indian territory in northern Ladakh and refusing to budge from their current position, two Chinese military helicopters have violated Indian airspace at Chumar in southeastern Ladakh, adding to the prevailing tension between the two countries.

With China virtually rejecting India’s demand that status quo be restored along the border, India is planning to set up more permanent posts closer to the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and has pressed in additional unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to maintain an eye on Chinese movements.

Two Chinese military copters entered the Indian airspace in the Chumar sector on April 21, top sources confirmed. The incident occurred on April 21 and in the middle of the ongoing stalemate near Daulat Beg Oldie in northern Ladakh, where Chinese soldiers pitched a tent on April 15. The Indian side had responded on April 18 by rushing in its troops.

The helicopters hovered over the area for quite some time and returned only after dropping some food cans, cigarette packets and hand-written notes, sources said. Brigadier B M Gupta had raised the matter with his Chinese counterpart senior Colonel Ayan Yanti at the flag meeting held yesterday.

Last September, Chinese helicopters flew over Chumar with some of its troops even getting onto the ground. The troops destroyed bunkers and old tents of the Indian Army before returning to their own airspace. Chumar is around 300 km southeast of Leh and lies close to India’s high-altitude astronomical observatory at Hanle.

Large swathes of the LAC, which has no definite alignment, are patrolled by Indian troops on a regular basis. At least five sections of the LAC are disputed in eastern Ladakh. Permanent posts, however, are few and far away from each other. The latest incursion by Chinese in northern Ladakh means that India will have to take a proactive role to protect its interests, sources said.

Unlike, the Line of Control (LoC) on the western front with Pakistan, the existing rules of engagement along the LAC do not entail having a post after a fixed distance. There are very few posts where the troops of either side eyeball-to eyeball. The distance from the LAC is mandated under peace agreements by the two sides since 1993.

Sources said the developments in the past one week have forced New Delhi to review its strategy along the LAC. So far, the peace agreement and modalities on confidence-building measures (CBM’s) were working. Whenever soldiers of either side came face-to-face due to varying perception of the LAC alignment, they withdrew as mandated under the April 2005 agreement. But now the dynamics have changed.

The latest intrusion by Chinese troops has taken place at Raki Nallah, east of Daulat Beg Oldie – India’s advanced landing ground (ALG). The area is manned by the Indo-Tibetan Border Police. However, Army troops were rushed in to counter the Chinese.

After two meetings proved unfruitful, a Commander-level flag meeting is likely to take place on April 26.

Official sources were, however, confident that the issue would be settled through negotiations between the two sides. On being asked about the fate of upcoming bilateral visit of Chinese Premier to India in the wake of the latest border row, Indian officials said as of now the scheduled visit of new Chinese Premier Li Keqiang was on.

Li would visit India in the third week of May. The two sides were working on his programme in India.

External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid, meanwhile, said the two countries were in touch to settle the matter while emphasising that New Delhi and Beijing had differing perception of the LAC. China yet again asserted it had not violated the LAC, virtually rejecting India’s demand that status quo be restored along the border. “I want to reiterate that Chinese troops have been acting in strict compliance with the bilateral agreements and conducting normal patrol on their side of the LAC. They have never crossed the line,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said in Beijing.

India, on its part, has sent its Army delegation to Beijing to finalise the dates of bilateral military exercise expected to be held later this year. The delegation has been sent to avoid any escalation in the situation. A Brigadier from the Military Operations is heading it and will finalise the date for the third edition of the hand-to-hand exercise between the two sides after a gap of four years. The exercise is expected to be held in September-October this year, said Indian officials.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2013/20130425/main1.htm

The Tribune – SGPC writes to Army seeking control of historic shrine in Leh

Perneet Singh, Tribune News Service

Amritsar, October 3. The SGPC has written to the Union Defence Ministry expressing its desire to take over the management of the historic Gurdwara Pathar Sahib, near Leh, in Jammu and Kashmir. The gurdwara is currently being looked after by the Army.

Sources said SGPC President Avtar Singh Makkar would meet the Army Chief to take up the matter with him in the near future.

The move came after an SGPC panel visited historic gurdwaras in the Ladakh region and recommended the handing over of the management of gurdwaras located in the Ladakh region to the premiere Sikh body.

The panel recently visited these shrines and took stock of the prevailing scenario there. There are two historic gurdwaras – Gurdwara Pathar Sahib and Gurdwara Datan Sahib – in Ladakh. Both shrines are associated with Guru Nanak Dev.

The Army is currently looking after the management of Gurdwara Pathar Sahib. The panel found that the Army jawans were managing the gurdwara well. “They are maintaining the ‘maryada’ while administering gurdwara affairs. The devotees visiting the shrines are also served ‘langar’.”

However, the panel members felt that there was room for improvement and the SGPC should take over the management of the shrine.

The number of tourists visiting Ladakh has gone up considerably, which has contributed to the increase in the number of devotees visiting the historic gurdwara.

The panel opined that the structure of the gurdwara could be expanded to cater to the future needs.

Gurdwara Datan Sahib is a temporary structure located around an ancient tree near the main market in Leh.

The local Sikhs have been trying to acquire some land and build a gurdwara there.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2012/20121004/punjab.htm#5

The Tribune – Commanding Officer hurt as Major, jawans clash in Leh

Ajay Banerjee & Ehsan Fazili, Tribune News Service

New Delhi/Srinagar, May 11. In a virtual free-for-all, soldiers and officers of an Army unit posted at a remote area of Ladakh clashed among themselves after a jawan allegedly misbehaved with an officer’s wife yesterday.

Among the six injured were the Commanding Officer (CO) of the 226 Field Regiment, Colonel Prasad Kadam, and a Major.

The Army has ordered a court of inquiry and the injured are being treated at the Leh Military Hospital. The Defence Ministry has also sought a report. Army Chief General V K Singh spoke to Northern Army Commander KT Parnaik and discussed the issue.

Army spokesman Colonel Jagdeep Dahiya said the situation was under control.

The incident took place at Mahe near the Nyoma airfield in Leh, about 50 km from the Line of Actual Control, reports said.

Sources said the Regiment — some 550 men and officers — had just finished its firing practice last evening when a fight broke out after a ‘sahayak’ (identified as Suman Ghosh) allegedly misbehaved with a Major’s wife.

The Major then allegedly beat up the jawan and did not allow his medical treatment, fuelling anger among the colleagues. The situation worsened after news reached the Commanding Officer, who reportedly shouted at the Major for his behaviour. The Major, accompanied by five of his colleagues, then, allegedly assaulted the CO in the presence of the jawans, a PTI report said.

The jawans briefly took control of the armoury, but did not withdraw any weapons, sources said. The unit was cordoned off this morning by the Army and state police. The General Office Commanding (GOC) 14 Corps Lt General Ravi Dastane visited the place this morning.

Superintendent of Police (Leh) Vivek Gupta was camping in Nyoma along with heavy reinforcements following a report by the Sub-Divisional Magistrate that Army jawans, armed with sticks and knives, were holding a protest, sources said.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2012/20120512/main4.htm

The Asian Age – Don’t harass North-East, Ladakh folks: High Court

Ridhima Malhotra, Asian Age Correspondent

New Delhi, 30 Mar 2012. The Delhi high court on Thursday appointed a team of lawyers to ascertain how many people detained by the city police, to prevent pro-Tibetan independence protests during Chinese President Hu Jintao’s visit to the capital, were genuine cases.

A bench of Acting Chief Justice A.K. Sikri and Justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw also directed the Delhi police to not harass people from the Northeast and Ladakh because of their resemblance to Tibetans, during their effort to prevent anti-China protests by members of the Tibetan community-in-exile demanding autonomy/independence for Tibet which was annexed by China in 1950.

“It is the duty of the police not to harass people in the name of maintaining law and order in the city. We permit the team of lawyers to meet those persons who were arrested and lodged in Tihar Jail or detained in police stations to find out whether they are from Tibet or the Northeast,” the bench said.

The court, however, refused to restrain the police from detaining Tibetan protesters to maintain the law and order situation.

The bench directed the police to shift the Tibetans, who were lodged in Tihar Jail, to Ambedkar Bhavan where nearly 200 others have been detained for staging protests.

The order was passed after an oral submission by lawyer Arun Asthana that for the last two days the police has been harassing people from the Northeast and Ladakh as they look like Tibetans. Harassment to citizens is violative of their personal liberty, Asthana said, citing the experience of two fellow lawyers from the Northeast who faced police interrogation on Thursday morning.

Appearing for the Delhi police, standing counsel (criminal) Pawan Sharma told the bench that on March 27 an order was passed by the Foreigner Regional Registration Offices (FRRO) under the Foreigners’ Act to detain Tibetans who did not have genuine identity proof and indulged in protests in the city.

Mr Sharma also submitted that 197 people have been picked up from various parts of the city and lodged in Ambedkar Bhavan. He added that they would be allowed to leave as soon as the Chinese President leaves the country on March 30 after the conclusion of the BRICS summit.

Meanwhile, the VIP movement and curbs for the BRICS Summit made the going really tough for commuters as traffic almost came to a standstill in New Delhi area and adjoining roads.

http://www.asianage.com/delhi/don-t-harass-n-e-ladakh-folks-hc-419

The Asian Age – China may resort to Indian territory grab, says expert report

New Delhi, 29 February 2012. China may resort to territorial grabs, including through a ‘major military offensive’, especially in Arunachal Pradesh or Ladakh in Jammu and Kashmir, and India should respond with ‘a strategy of quid pro quo’, says a report by an independent group of Indian analysts.

“Our frontiers with China have been mostly stable for some years now. However, China could assert its territorial claims (especially in the Arunachal sector or Ladakh) by the use of force,” says the report that seeks to outline a foreign and strategic policy for India in the 21st century.

“There is the possibility that China might resort to territorial grabs. The most likely areas for such bite-sized operations are those parts of the Line of Actual Control where both sides have different notions of where the LAC actually runs. These places are known,” says the report.

The report contends that India can’t ‘entirely dismiss the possibility of a major military offensive in Arunachal Pradesh or Ladakh’.

The report entitled ‘Non-Alignment 2.0: A Foreign and Strategic Policy for the 21st century’, was unveiled on Tuesday evening at a panel discussion at Hotel Ashok in which National Security Adviser Shiv Shankar Menon and his immediate predecessors M.K. Narayanan, currently West Bengal governor, and Brajesh Mishra participated.

“China will, for the foreseeable future, remain a significant foreign policy and security challenge for India. It is the one major power which impinges directly on India’s geopolitical space. As its economic and military capabilities expand, its power differential with India is likely to widen,” says the publication in a chapter entitled ‘The Asian Theatre’.

The debate on India’s options in dealing with an emerging China, among other things, has coincided with the two-day visit of Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi to India that began on Wednesday.

The report goes on to say that in case of a military offensive or territorial grab, India will need ‘a mix of defensive and offensive capabilities’ to restore the status quo ante.

“Indeed, given the fact that the combat ratio and logistical networks favour China and that the attacker will always have the advantage of tactical (if not strategic) surprise, we will need a mix of defensive and offensive capabilities to leverage the advantages the terrain offers.”

The better way of responding to limited land grabs by China, the report suggests, is for India to take similar action across the LAC: a strategy of quid pro quo. These areas should be identified and earmarked for limited offensive operations on our part, the report recommends.

In the event of a major offensive by China, the report suggests India should not resort to a strategy of proportionate response.

“Rather we should look to leverage our asymmetric capabilities to convince the Chinese to back down.”

The report recommends that India must prepare itself to trigger an insurgency in the areas occupied by Chinese forces and to develop the capability to interdict the logistics and military infrastructure in Tibet.

The report outlines other strategies to counter the Chinese offensive which includes accelerating the integration of the frontier regions and its people by speeding up and improving communication infrastructure with the mainland and to expand naval capabilities in the Indian Ocean region.

“Due to the multiplicity of the agencies involved, there is need to establish a Maritime Commission. The crucial decision we face here concerns the quantum of additional resources that we must devote to developing our maritime power.”

The report has been co-authored by a group of analysts comprising Shyam Saran, former foreign secretary and special envoy to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh; Nandan Nilekani, chairman of Unique Identity Development Authority of India; Lt General (retired) Prakash Menon, military advisor to the National Security Council Secretariat; Sunil Khilnani, professor of history at King’s College, London’s India Institute; Pratap Bhanu Mehta, president, Centre for Policy Research (CPR); Rajiv Kumar, FICCI secretary general; Srinath Raghavan, senior fellow at CPR; and Siddharth Vardarajan (Editor, The Hindu). (IANS)

http://www.asianage.com/india/china-may-resort-indian-territory-grab-says-expert-report-356

The Tribune – World’s largest solar telescope to be set up in Ladakh

Tribune News Service

Jammu, January 6. Jammu and Kashmir will have the distinction of setting up the world’s largest solar telescope in the Ladakh region of the state. The telescope is being set up by the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India. The National Large Solar Telescope (NLST) will be set up at the Pangong Tso Lake in Ladakh.

This was stated by Chief Secretary Madhav Lal while chairing a meeting here today. The meeting was convened to discuss the modalities for setting up the solar telescope and chalk out strategies to ensure that the construction as well as operational phases of the project could be undertaken with minimal disturbance to the local flora and fauna.

Prof Tushar P Prabhu from the Department of Science and technology at the Indian Institute of Astrophysics said the site was selected after carefully studying various scientific and environmental aspects.

It emerged from the studies that the Pangong Lake site at Merak was promising and offered longer sunshine hours.

He said the site selected for setting up of the world’s largest solar telescope fitted with a 2m reflector would allow scientists to carry out cutting-edge research to understand the fundamental processes taking place on the sun.

The solar telescope will help the scientific community to study the long term changes in the earth’s climate and environment and also provide useful data to carry out research, in order to minimise or remove disruptions to communications network and satellites due to periodic solar winds.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2012/20120107/j&k.htm#6

The Tribune – On the LAC Part 4; Banners and not guns hold peace here

Both sides hold their nerve, opt for peaceful withdrawal

Ajay Banerjee in Ladakh

A small population of 135 makes up the village of Demchok in south-eastern Ladakh. It is in this remote village along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) that the words ‘transgression by troops’ lead to media frenzy in India and China.

One wrong step by troops in these areas draws an echo across New Delhi and Beijing — such is the level of sensitivity.

Following an agreement thrashed out in April 2005, India and China have worked out what is called a ‘banner drill’ which helps keep tension under check.

Whenever either side perceives that a transgression has been made across the LAC, soldiers show a 10-feet-wide banner with a slogan painted across to each other. The banner primarily cites the 2005 agreement and says there is a need to back off from the present positions of patrolling.

The banners are shown across the LAC as perceptions of the two nations differ as to where the LAC is located.

Historically, there has never been a demarcated boundary. These are strategically vital portions along the eastern fringes of the Ladakh plateau, which is contiguous with Tibet.

China has occupied 1,700 square kilometre of Indian territory in this region. Troops of both sides often come face-to-face in areas like Demchok, Pangong Tso lake and Chushul.

The ‘banner drill’ is framed under the “protocol on modalities for implementation of CBMs in the military field along the LAC in the India-China border areas”. It is part of a protocol agreed upon to de-escalate momentary transgressions by soldiers of the two countries.

As part of the ‘banner drill’, lndian soldiers, on patrol duty along the LAC, carry a white-coloured banner which has slogans painted in English and Mandarin asking the Chinese soldiers to back off from areas where the perception of the LAC varies. Contrary to reports in the media, it is not just the Chinese who show their red-coloured banners asking Indian troops to back off from portions of the LAC which they presume as theirs.

Showing of banners is neither a hostile act and nor is it seen as a shame when soldiers of both armies show their respective banners to each other across the LAC. The Indian side does not want to get into telling how many times such face-offs happen annually, but sources said it is as frequent as once in three-four weeks.

“It keeps down the tension between fully armed troops on either side,” explains Brig Anil Chaudhary, who commands the Brigade at Kiari located some 160 km away from the LAC.

On ground, the troops, which are rotated every 18 months, are taught how to do the drill and its significance. Young subalterns are instructed by the JCO or the Subedar how the banners have to be unfurled without saying a word to the opposing side.

The standard operating procedure is activated if the border personnel of the two sides come face-to-face due to differences on the alignment of the LAC or any other reason.

The mandate of the agreement is: “Throughout the face-to-face situation, neither side shall use force or threaten to use force against the other”. It also calls upon both sides to stop their activities in the area and not advance any further. They have to return to their respective bases after the banner drill. (Concluded)

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2011/20111103/main6.htm

The Tribune – Chinese airfields encircle Ladakh

India has 2 airbases at Leh & Thoise, China has 6 fully-functional airfields adjoining Ladakh 

Ajay Banerjee at the LAC in Ladakh

In the vast windswept and barren landscape that divides India and China in southeastern Ladakh, temperatures can drop to a numbing minus 10 degree Celsius at the start of winter. What’s more bone chilling for India is recent military developments in western parts of Tibet and Xinjiang province in China that pose a new challenge for Indian defence establishment and its forces.

There can be no masking the fact that India needs to prioritise and speed up its thrust into eastern Ladakh. Setting up of vital airfields, infrastructure on the LAC, storehouses for supplies and better accommodation for troops just cannot be postponed any more.

At the beginning of October, the Indian Defence Ministry gave its nod to develop an airfield at Nyoma and expand the one at Kargil. At present India has two full-fledged airbases at Leh and Thoise.

Meanwhile, China has readied six airbases on its side in areas of western Tibet and Xinjiang province adjoining Ladakh.

The Indian security establishment has irrefutable visual inputs on Chinese airfields. Beijing now has the capability to launch fighter aircrafts carrying deadly strike weapons or transport planes carrying tonnes of equipment or hundreds of troops to land then close to Indian forward defence lines along the LAC. These fully-functional airfields virtually form a ‘ring’ around Ladakh.

A senior official explained to The Tribune the fresh challenges saying Kashgar, Korla, Yarkand, Hotan, Cherchen (Qiemo) and Gardzong, have operational airfields. Large planes like the IL76 transporter operate from there. Last winter, the Chinese conducted a major military exercise and even operated their own version of the Sukhoi-30 fighter from at least three of these bases.

In India, only Leh and Thoise allow operations of all types of small and large planes. The Kargil airstrip is just 6,000-feet long and allows only smaller planes like AN32 or the C-130-Js to land. It will be expanded by the year 2016.

Nyoma in southeastern Ladakh is a mud-paved advanced landing ground (ALG). This sits at a junction from where three pressure points along the LAC-Demchok, Chushul and Chumar sector-are close by. Indian strategic planners have ruled out having a full operational usage of the ALG’s at Fukche and Chushul as they are deemed too close to China.

In China, the accommodation coming up is all in concrete. China terms the structures as the ‘nomad-huts’. The Indian Army suspects these are of dual use and can be converted into supply depots or even bunkers. The Chinese watch towers at Domshele and Demchok are three-storey high and are visibly well protected and insulated. The Indian side has basic amenities but those are way behind China.

A China-watcher at the New-Delhi-based Observer Research Foundation, Dr K Yhome, says, “From a military point of view, the Chinese infrastructure of airfields, roads and rail-network threatens India. Our pace is not quick enough,” he adds.

It’s important that defence planners take note of his assessment.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2011/20111102/main7.htm

The Tribune – On the LAC Part 2; India needs to ramp up infrastructure along LAC

Ajay Banerjee writes from Fukche in Ladakh

All along the backbreaking drive on the 109-km dirt track connecting Loma, Fukche and Demchok, it is disconcerting to see how India has failed to lay a metalled road on a flat plain-like plateau in South-Eastern Ladakh despite its announced focus on ramping up infrastructure along the Chinese frontier.

The story of the dirt track repeats itself if an approach is to be made to Chushul, another area on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China. Rather, for Chushul – it is the place where the epic battle of Rezang La was fought in 1962 – there are two approaches and both are dirt tracks. One road takes off from south of the Pangong Tso lake and the other one takes off from Loma. Men like Phuntsog Namgayal, local councillor of the Ladakh Autonomous Hill District Council, echo the demand saying “we have lot of troubles, at least the road should be good”.

Loma, around 180 km south-east of Leh and located along the banks of the Indus, is the bifurcation point for two important approaches towards the sensitive LAC. A left turn takes off to Chushul and the last 68-km stretch is a dirt track. New Delhi now wants to make up and is planning a road to Chushul that will travel a different route and be behind the mountains hence movement on it will be outside visual range of the Chinese.

The other road from Loma goes across a bridge on the Indus and leads to a dirt track to Fukche and Demchok, both located smack on the LAC but 20 km apart, west-to-east. The 109 km drive takes more than three hours in one of the high-end SUVs.

Sources point out that the road work on the stretch had hit a hurdle as the area falls under the “Chumathang cold desert wildlife sanctuary” which was notified around 10 years ago.

There is not a single tree along the route and the population, as per government records, is less than 900. A few hundred wild animals like the Kiang – a kind of mix between a horse and a donkey – inhabit the area. In the second week of October, an independent survey of the animal population was completed and it is hoped the road work will commence in the next fiscal after formal clearance from the environment impact assessment committee.

India’s planning on this front has been faulty despite it having stationed its military outposts at Demchok and Fukche since 1965 and even earlier at Chushul. In contrast, China set up its military posts across the LAC in 2008. Along with the posts have come fully metalled roads, well-stocked storehouses and concrete accommodation for its troops. The difference between India and China’s infrastructure is glaring in these parts of the LAC. The Chinese efforts are visible as one looks across the Indus that runs along the LAC. The Chinese watch towers at Domshele and Demchok are triple-storeyed concrete structures and are visibly well-protected and insulated.

Only now has India ramped up facilities for its jawans at Chushul and provided them with the latest DRDO-built accommodation where inside temperatures can be controlled even if it’s snowing outside.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2011/20111101/main2.htm