Apprehensions are being raised from official quarters now that India may have lost nearly 640 square km of area on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh in the past few months due to the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) policy of preventing Indian troops from patrolling upto the Indian perception of the LAC. This, in military parlance, is referred to as a strategy of “area denial” which leads to de-facto takeover of land. According to reports aired by TV channels on Thursday, a report submitted by the National Security Advisory Board (NSAB) to the Government has purportedly said the PLA has “incrementally” occupied nearly 640 square km of area on the LAC in Ladakh in the past few months and that patrolling limits set by incremental PLA area denial in the eastern Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir have now become the de facto LAC. The report also purportedly says that there has effectively been a loss of 640 sq km of Indian territory across three sectors in Depsang, Chumar and Pangong Tso in the Ladakh region. The issue was also raised in the Lok Sabha on Thursday evening by BJP MP Yashwant Sinha, who demanded a statement from the government on Friday.
Defence minister A.K. Antony may make a statement in Parliament on the issue on Friday. Army sources said they were not aware of any NSAB report but sought to dismiss any claims that territory had been lost to India. Army sources said Indian troops are still patrolling upto the Indian perception of the LAC in Ladakh and other areas.
According to the reports aired, the NSAB report purportedly says that Indian troops are no longer able to access at least four points on the patrol line, thereby leading to denying of an area earlier accessible to them, and that after PLA incursions in April and May, the Depsang Bulge area in Ladakh is no longer accessible to Indian forces.
The report also purportedly says that approximately 70 sq km of Indian territory is now effectively under the PLA’s control at Pangong Tso.