4 more Army Brigades being deployed in Ladakh to effectively counter China threat

*Senior officers posted; creation of infra begins

Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, Jan 15: To effectively counter the threat of China, whose troops have repeatedly been adopting aggressive postures and intruding into this side of Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Ladakh sector, the Ministry of Defence has ordered deployment of four more Army Brigades in the region which include one full-fledged Armoured contingent. The Brigadier-level officers have already been posted to personally supervise the creation of infrastructure for these new Brigades, which has taken off at a fast pace.
Highly placed Defence sources told EXCELSIOR that in order to beef up India’s defence against China and take care of operational gaps along the entire Line of Actual Control in Ladakh sector, the Ministry of Defence has ordered deployment of four more Army Brigades in the region.
The decision about strengthening India’s defence along the Line of Actual Control with the China was taken last year when the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) had given nod to the ambitious proposal of the Army to raise Mountain Strike Corps for acquiring an offensive capability on the northern borders stretching from Arunachal Pradesh in the east to Ladakh in the northwest, sources said while disclosing that the implementation of the CCS decision has now been taken off at a fast pace.
“The deployment of four more Army Brigades assumes much importance in the wake of increasing Chinese aggression in the Ladakh region”, sources said, adding that during the past few years Chinese Army has frequently been adopting aggressive postures in different areas along the Line of Actual Control. During the past some months, Daulat Beg Oldi Sector, Demchok in South of Aksai Chin, Chumur and Pangong areas have witnessed major incidents of Chinese incursions.
In Daulat Beg Oldi sector, the Chinese Army had adopted aggressive posture in the month of May 2013 and even pitched tents while as in Demchok area the Chinese troops got work on link-road stopped. In Chumur area, the Chinese Army ingressed 200 meters and even stopped Indian Army from patrolling the area. In the most recent incident, Chinese Army refused to return horses and three civilians after they inadvertently crossed the LAC via Chumur sector.
Disclosing that four additional Army Brigades would be stationed in Ladakh region within next few months, sources said, “Brigadier level officers have already been posted in the region to personally supervise the creation of infrastructure required for each of these Brigades. Three Brigades will be stationed in Leh district and one in Kargil district”.
In Leh district, one Brigade would be stationed near Patharsahib Gurdwara, which is situated around 20 kilometers from Leh town while as second Brigade will have the Headquarters in Durbuk, which is one of the points where Indian and Chinese troops have frictions after regular intervals. The third Brigade will be stationed in Nimo village, sources said while disclosing that infrastructure for these Brigades would be completed during the upcoming working season.
Disclosing that one of these Brigades is full-fledged Armoured Brigade, sources said, “this is for the first time that Armoured contingent is being deployed in Jammu and Kashmir. Mainly, there are Infantry and Artillery Brigades”, adding “this is for the first time that Ministry of Defence has shown such a fastest reaction towards the increasing Chinese aggression”.
According to the sources, with the deployment of additional Brigades in the Ladakh region Army would be able to effectively thwart the nefarious designs of the Chinese Army.

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