Latest satellite image from Pangong Tso. (Credit: Planet Labs)
China continues to consolidate its positions in the faceoff with Indian soldiers on the north bank of Pangong Tso at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh, but the first signs of tension in the area emerged last September, days after the government announced abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir and creation of Ladakh as a separate Union Territory.
Ever since a brawl on September 11 last year – 10 Indian security personnel were injured in the incident — the Chinese side has been attempting to block Indian patrols from proceeding towards Finger 8 on the north bank of the lake.
India says the LAC in the area is coterminous with Finger 8, while the Chinese claim it to be a few kilometres further to the west — Fingers are mountainous spurs jutting out from the ridge on the north bank towards the lake.
An official told The Indian Express that there was no physical clash between the two sides for more than two years in the Pangong Tso area, after a video of Indian and Chinese soldiers in a brawl on the north bank on August 15, 2017 did the rounds….
