The thaw in India-China ties has brought focus on the Depsang and Demchok regions. These two areas located in eastern Ladakh hit global headlines after New Delhi and Beijing agreed to disengage and pull back their troops to the pre-2020 positions.
With troops aiming to finish the disengagement process by the end of this month, here’s a look at the geopolitical importance of Depsang plains:
1: Depsang plains are very critical for India. This is because of these plains in eastern Ladakh provide crucial access to the Darbuk-Shyok-DBO road and the Daulat Beg Oldie airstrip. These plains are critical for India’s military mobility in the northern border defence. Control over Depsang plains helps India in thwarting any attempts at hindering the logistical lines.
2: As per the strategy agreed by India and China, the Peoples Liberation Army will no longer block the Indian Army troops in reaching the ‘bottleneck’ area located in Depsang plains. This particular area is situated 18 km inside what New Delhi considers as its own territory.
3: At the end of disengagement process, Indian troops are likely to get access to patrolling points 10,11, 11A,12 and 13 in Depsang.
4: The tabletop plateau located at the altitude of 16,000-feet is part of India’s Sub Sector North. This sector is right in the middle of Siachen glacier on one side and Aksai Chin on the other.
5: Before 2020, Depsang, which is suitable for tank deployment due to its geographical feature, witnessed two big showdowns in 2013 and 2015. Apart from these, the region has seen many instances of Indian and Chinese forces coming face-to-face during patrols.
6: Situation in Depsang predates the May-June standoff of 2020. A report by The Print quoting defence sources said that Chinese troops were blocking the Indian soldiers from patrolling the area, which can only be done by foot, beyond Y Junction or Bottleneck feature in Depsang.
7: There are two other routes to reach the Bottlenext feature. In north, the route goes via Raki Nala to PP10. In southeast, the route to PP13 is called Jiwan Nala.
8:The geopolitically sensitive Depsang is crucial because loss of control on these plains mean loss of control on Darbuk-Shyok-Daulat Beg Oldie (DS-DBO) road.
9: This 255-km long DBO road connects Ladakhi capital Leh to the Karakoram Pass. Apart from the nearly 200 km road, Daulat Beg Oldie is also home to the world’s highest air strip.
10: Any threat to Depsang and DBO can result in loss of control over critical Karakoram pass.
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