Noting that negotiations between Beijing and New Delhi are progressing “slowly” to resolve the 18-month military standoff along the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh, the Biden administration has said China has been taking “incremental and tactical actions to press its claims” at the LAC with India.
In its annual report released November 3, the Department of Defense has underlined that China's military has likely gained real-world operational and tactical experience during the standoff. It also said that “sometime in 2020”, China built a “large 100-home civilian village inside disputed territory between” between the Tibet Autonomous Region and Arunachal Pradesh.
“These and other infrastructure development efforts” along the India-China boundary “have been a source of consternation in the Indian government and media,” the report stated. “Despite agreements to disengage in the spring of 2021, both sides maintain troops along the LAC as Corps Commander-level negotiations progress slowly.”
Highlighting an incident after the clashes in Galwan Valley in June 2020, the report said “on September 8, 2020, a PLA (People's Liberation Army) patrol fired warning shots at an Indian patrol near Pangong Lake — the first shots fired along the LAC in decades”.
Indian security establishment officials have also said that warning shots were fired by both sides around the time Indian and Chinese troops were jostling for heights in the Kailash Range…
