A YEAR after the violent face-off with Chinese troops in the Galwan valley on June 15, 2020, the Indian defence forces have strengthened themselves in the entire Ladakh sector through multiple initiatives. These include building infrastructure to enhance connectivity and deploying additional troops to tackle any possible aggression by the Chinese. The strengthening of positions has taken place at all levels in the Indian Armed Forces including both the Indian Army and Air Force. The biggest achievement has been from the infrastructure point of view as road connectivity to all the forward locations have been improved, Government officials said.

 

“Whether it is the Zojila pass, the world’s new highest motorable road Umling La, Marsmik La, or Khardung La, they have been kept open for troops movement throughout the year, courtesy the Border Roads Organisation,” the officials said. They added that connectivity has also helped to keep up the supplies at the forward locations throughout the year and provided us the capability to deploy troops in no time. The Indian Army has also strengthened its deployments in Ladakh as well as the entire Line of Actual Control (LAC) as it has now deployed an additional strike corps to tackle the China border. “The Mathura-based One Strike Corps has been reoriented towards the northern borders in Ladakh and the 17 Mountain Strike Corps has been given the charge of the entire northeastern states along with providing it an additional Division comprising over 10,000 troops, they said.

 

The Indian Air Force, on its part, is also strengthening itself with the arrival of its Rafale fighter jets every couple of months, officials added. Along with the Rafales, the MiG-29s and the Su-30 fleets have been dominating the skies all along the Northern borders and the second squadron or the planes would be ready for operations by the end of this month. The biggest achievement of the defence forces has been in creating accommodation for the troops as the Military Engineers have created facilities planned to have been built in the next five years within the last 11 months, they added.