The Chinese have not withdrawn, they are not retreating in a hurry. Tensions boil below the surface. On the Indian side, there is a mirror display of forces. Any additional advance has been blocked. no more nibbling on our territory, no more slicing salami. But the problem is that the Chinese are still sitting on our land with all the intention of making the occupation permanent.
What is the status of intrusions and withdrawals at this time? Like on July 26, in Galwan (encompassing patrol point 14), the Chinese have more or less withdrawn. Their intrusion had been at a depth of 1 km here. In Hot Springs (patrol points 15, 16, and 17) the intrusion was of the order of 3 km from which there was a partial withdrawal. The same goes for the area around the Pangong Tso, including the finger area. The EPL has affected only a partial disconnect here. Initially, they had invaded almost 10 km. At the previous Demchok-Fukche access point to the southern tip of LAC in Ladakh, this time there has been no intrusion. Chinese goals have changed, it seems.
It is in the plains of Depsang where the Chinese army made the deepest intrusion: 16-18 km. Here they have not retired an inch and remain firm in the negotiations. Nothing moves them. The deepest point of intrusion is in the area known as the bottleneck. While Indian troops retain the bottleneck, they are prevented from patrolling throughout LAC. In this way, Chinese troops are denying India access to five of its Patrol Points: PP-10, PP-11, PP-11A, PP-12, and PP-13. These PPs are located in an arc of about 20 km from Raki Nala to Jiwan Nala, on a line marked as the Patrol Line, a few kilometers west of LAC.
The new reality should dawn upon us now. Around 45,000 Chinese troops still cling to our soil, deploy in advanced positions against us, or remain in reserve in the Aksai Chin area. There have been no withdrawals of tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, medium artillery, air defense systems, or unmanned aerial vehicles, both combat and surveillance.
An estimated 600 square km of Indian territory is currently under Chinese occupation. Their attitude and actions conform to a pattern. What appear to be your intentions? Undoubtedly to add depth to your vital National Highway 219. There are other geostrategic objectives under discussion that will have to wait for another day. What is clear is that the Chinese have ducked. We have no choice but to use a large number of reinforcement formations to block their intrusions and threaten their troops through a deliberate offensive of their own. Meanwhile, the costs of improved logistics for nearly 50,000 soldiers during the winter months will be prohibitive.
Detailed Order of Battle: Western Theater Command, PLA
In my last office, I had written about build-up by PLA Western Theater Command (WTC) That covers the entire boundary with India from the northern end of the Siachen Glacier to the junction of India, China, and Myanmar at Diphu Pass in Arunachal Pradesh. Here is a look at his detailed battle order.
EPL Western Theater Command area of responsibility
Theater Command Headquarters: Chengdu
Ground forces, HQ: Lanzhou, Gansu
This reorganized order of battle and organization occurred in 2017. Previously, one of the existing group armies was disbanded and the remaining two were renumbered.
1. Formations / Units directly under the theater command headquarters
1.1 1st Technical Reconnaissance Office, Chengdu, Sichuan (responsible for Sigint (signal intelligence), Elint (electronic intelligence), CNO (computer network operations), manages Information Warfare Militias (hackers) and keeps informed to the theater commander and his headquarters of the enemy’s intentions and movements.
1.2 Unidentified Artillery Brigade, Urumqi, Xinjiang
1.3 Unidentified Army Aviation Brigade. Korla, Xinjiang
2. Tibet Military District, Lhasa, Tibet
2.1 52 Mountain Infantry Brigades, Nyingchi, Tibet
2.2 53rd Mountain Infantry Brigade, Linzhi, Tibet
2.3 54th Mechanized Infantry Brigade, Lhasa
2.4 Unidentified Special Operations Brigade, Lhasa
2.5 308th Artillery Brigade, Lhasa
2.6 651st Anti-Aircraft Artillery Brigade, Lhasa
2.7 Unidentified Army Aviation Brigade
2.8 15th Regiment of Engineers and Chemical Defense
2.8 Unidentified signal regiment
2.9 Unidentified Electronic Warfare Regiment
3. Xinjiang Military District (Urumqi, Xinjiang)
3.1 Fourth Motorized Infantry Division, Aksu, Xinjiang – currently operationally deployed in Galwan Valley / Hot Springs / Pangong Tso
3.2 6th Mechanized Infantry Division, Hetian, Xinjiang – currently operationally deployed in Depsang Plains
3.3 8th Motorized Infantry Division, Tacheng, Xinjiang – reserve for Aksai Chin
3.4 11th Motorized Infantry Division, Urumqi, Xinjiang – reserve for Aksai Chin, currently deployed from his location in peacetime
3.5 Unidentified Special Operations Brigade, Kashgar, Xinjiang
3.6 Third Army Aviation Brigade
3.7 Second Artillery Brigade, Urumqi, Xinjiang
3.8 Unidentified Air Defense Brigade, Urumqi, Xinjiang
3.9 Ninth Engineer Regiment
3.10 Unidentified signal regiment
3.11 Unidentified Electronic Warfare Regiment
3.12 31st Chemical Defense Regiment
4. 77 Group Army, HQ: Chongqing
4.1 Three combined arms brigades located in Chonqing, Sichuan
4.2 Unidentified Special Operations Brigade, Sichuan
4.3 Unidentified Artillery Brigade, Chongzhou, Sichuan
4.4 Unidentified Anti-Aircraft Artillery Brigade, Mianyang, Sichuan
4.5 2nd Army Aviation Brigade, Sichuan
4.6 Unidentified Engineers Regiment
4.7 Unidentified signal regiment
4.8 Unidentified Electronic Warfare Regiment
5. 76 Group Army, HQ: Xining, Qinghai
5.1 Three combined arms brigades located in Qinghai, Ningxia and Gansu
5.2 Unidentified special operations brigade
5.3 13th Army Aviation Brigade
5.4 Unidentified artillery brigade
5.5 Unidentified Anti-Aircraft Artillery Brigade, Linxia, Gansu
5.6 Unidentified signal regiment
5.7 14th Engineer Regiment
5.8 11th Chemical Defense Regiment
5.9 90th Pontones Bridge Regiment
6. EPL Air Force Formations
6.1 6th Fighter Division, Yinchuan, Ningxia: Consists of a regiment with J-11 Shenyang air superiority fighters, a regiment with Chengdu J-7 interceptors and a third with Chengdu J-7Es.
6.2 33rd Combat Division, Dazu, Chongqing
6.3 37th Combat Division, Urumqi, Xinjiang
6.4 36th Bomber Division, Lintong, Shaanxi
6.5 Fourth Transportation Division, Qionglai, Sichuan
7. PLA rocket force
7.1 Base 56, Xining, Qinghai: Control 3 to 5 brigades from various battalions. Its units are equipped with DF-21 missiles (range 1,335 km) and DF-31 (range 4,350 km)
8. Border defense regiments
8.1 16 regiments plus a few independent battalions deployed for border management. These are issued in penny packets, lightly armed but on par with regular forces for the small army, support weapons, equipment, signal equipment, and officer caliber.
This gives a total of 235,000 fighters, most of them located at a considerable distance from LAC. However, these troops can be reinforced in less than a month by a significantly greater number of formations given the excellent communications infrastructure that exists in Tibet and Xinjiang. The Group Armies at the WTC were reformed and reorganized in 2017. Given the totalitarian nature of the Chinese state, its normal paranoia, and obsessive secrecy it has not been possible to identify beyond a reasonable doubt the new combined arms brigades formed within these Group Armies (equivalent to an Indian Corps).
She is a freelance blogger, writer, and speaker, and writes for various entertainment magazines.