The Depsang Plains, a high-altitude
gravel
Gravel () is a loose aggregation of rock fragments. Gravel occurs naturally on Earth as a result of sedimentation, sedimentary and erosion, erosive geological processes; it is also produced in large quantities commercially as crushed stone.
Gr ...
ly plain in the northwest portion of the disputed
Aksai Chin
Aksai Chin is a region administered by China partly in Hotan County, Hotan Prefecture, Xinjiang, and partly in Rutog County, Ngari Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region, Tibet, and constituting the easternmost portion of the larger Kashmir regio ...
region of
Kashmir
Kashmir ( or ) is the Northwestern Indian subcontinent, northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term ''Kashmir'' denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir P ...
, divided into
Indian and Chinese administered portions by a
Line of Actual Control
The Line of Actual Control (LAC), in the context of the Sino-Indian border dispute, is a notional demarcation lineAnanth KrishnanLine of Actual Control , India-China: the line of actual contest, 13 June 2020: "In contrast, the alignment of ...
.
[
] India controls the western portion of the plains as part of
Ladakh
Ladakh () is a region administered by India as a union territory and constitutes an eastern portion of the larger Kashmir region that has been the subject of a Kashmir#Kashmir dispute, dispute between India and Pakistan since 1947 and India an ...
, while the eastern portion is controlled by China and claimed by India. The
Line of Control
The Line of Control (LoC) is a military control line between the Indian and Pakistanicontrolled parts of the former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir—a line which does not constitute a legally recognized international boundary, but ser ...
with Pakistan-administered
Gilgit-Baltistan
Gilgit-Baltistan (; ), formerly known as the Northern Areas, is a region administered by Pakistan as an administrative units of Pakistan, administrative territory and consists of the northern portion of the larger Kashmir region, which has b ...
is west of the Depsang Plains, with the
Siachen Glacier
The Siachen Glacier is a glacier located in the eastern Karakoram range of the Himalayas, just northeast of the point NJ9842 where the Line of Control between India and Pakistan ends in northeastern Kashmir. At long, it is the longest glaci ...
in-between.
Ladakh's traditional trade route to Central Asia passed through the Depsang Plains, with the
Karakoram Pass
The Karakoram Pass () is a mountain pass between India and China in the Karakoram Range. It is the highest pass on the ancient caravan route between Leh in Ladakh and Yarkant County, Yarkand in the Tarim Basin. The name 'Karakoram' comes from ...
lying directly to its north.
The Depsang plains are also part of the area called Sub-Sector North (SSN) by the Indian military. The area sees frequent tension between China and India. Major standoffs between the two countries occurred in
2013
2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years).
2013 was designated as:
*International Year of Water Cooperation
*International Year of Quinoa
Events
January
* January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...
, 2015 and
2020
The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...
.
Name
''Depsang'' (or ''Dipsang'') means 'open, elevated plain' in Tibetan.
Geography

The Depsang plains are located in the north-western
Aksai Chin
Aksai Chin is a region administered by China partly in Hotan County, Hotan Prefecture, Xinjiang, and partly in Rutog County, Ngari Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region, Tibet, and constituting the easternmost portion of the larger Kashmir regio ...
.
[
]
They are bounded on the north by the valley of the
Chip Chap River
The Chip Chap River (meaning: "quiet river") is a tributary of the Shyok River that flows from the disputed Aksai Chin region administered by China to Ladakh in India. It originates at the eastern edge of the Depsang Plains and flows west, skirt ...
and on the west by the
Shyok River
The Shyok River (sometimes spelled Shayok) is a major tributary of the Indus River that flows through northern Ladakh in India and into Gilgit-Baltistan in Pakistan. Originating from the Central Rimo Glacier in the eastern Karakoram, it runs f ...
. On the east, they are bounded by low hills of the Lak Tsung range, which separate them from the basin of the
Karakash River
The Karakash or Black Jade River, also spelled ''Karakax'' (, , Қарақаш Дәряси), is a river in the Xinjiang autonomous region of the People's Republic of China that originates in Aksai Chin. It passes through the historical settlemen ...
. In the south, the Depsang Plains proper end at the Depsang La pass, but in common parlance, the Depsang region is taken to include the mountainous region to the south of it, including the "
Depsang Bulge". The latter is a bulge in theoretical Indian territory, housing the upper course of the
Burtsa Nala.
The
Karakoram Pass
The Karakoram Pass () is a mountain pass between India and China in the Karakoram Range. It is the highest pass on the ancient caravan route between Leh in Ladakh and Yarkant County, Yarkand in the Tarim Basin. The name 'Karakoram' comes from ...
is located to the north of the Depsang Plains, while the Lingzi Thang plains lie to the southeast. On the west is the southern part of the
Rimo glacier
__NOTOC__
The Rimo Muztagh is one of the most remote subranges of the Karakoram range. The southern part of Rimo Muztagh is in the Ladakh portion of far northwestern India, also claimed by Pakistan. The northern half, including the Rimo massif, ...
, the source of the
Shyok River
The Shyok River (sometimes spelled Shayok) is a major tributary of the Indus River that flows through northern Ladakh in India and into Gilgit-Baltistan in Pakistan. Originating from the Central Rimo Glacier in the eastern Karakoram, it runs f ...
.
[
]
Francis Younghusband
Lieutenant Colonel Sir Francis Edward Younghusband, (31 May 1863 – 31 July 1942) was a British Army officer, explorer and spiritual writer. He is remembered for his travels in the Far East and Central Asia; especially the 1904 British ...
, who travelled here in the late 19th century, described the area as follows:
Line of Actual Control
In 1962, China and India fought a
war
War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...
over the border dispute, following which the Depsang Plains have been divided between the two countries across a
Line of Actual Control
The Line of Actual Control (LAC), in the context of the Sino-Indian border dispute, is a notional demarcation lineAnanth KrishnanLine of Actual Control , India-China: the line of actual contest, 13 June 2020: "In contrast, the alignment of ...
(LAC), which runs east of the traditional caravan route. Now only the militaries of the two countries inhabit the region, distributed into numerous military camps. The nearest inhabited village is
Murgo
Murgo, on "Murgo Nala" near Murgo Hotspring, is a small hilly village which lies near the Line of Actual Control in Nubra district of the union territory of Ladakh in India, close to Chinese-controlled Aksai Chin. It is one of the northernmost ...
.
Locations
Burtsa, alternately spelled as ''Burtse'', is a historic halting spot on the
caravan route at the southern end of the Depsang Plains, where the Depsang Nala joins the Burtsa Nala. It currently serves as a military camp of the
Indo-Tibetan Border Police
The Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) is a Central Armed Police Forces, central armed police force in India under the Ministry of Home Affairs (India), Ministry of Home Affairs. It is responsible for guarding Border guard, India’s border with ...
(ITBP) and the Indian Army on the
Darbuk-Shyok-DBO road, about 15 kilometres on the India's side of the
LAC
Lac may refer to:
Places Africa
* Lac Region, a district in Chad
* Lac Prefecture, a district in Chad
America
* Rivière du Lac, a tributary of the Montmorency River, in Capitale-Nationale, Quebec, Canada
Europe
* Laç, a city in Albania
* Lac ...
.
North of Burtsa is Qizil Langar, also called Qazi Langar. It lies in a narrow, reddish gorge, immediately to the south of the Depasang La. The Depsang Nala stream flows in the gorge from the west and takes a turn to the south at Qizil Langar. Depsang Nala joins the Burtsa Nala a little to the south of Burtsa and the combined river flows west and drains into the Murgo Nala near the village of Murgo.
Gapshan or ''Yapshan'' is a halting place at the confluence of the
Chip Chap River
The Chip Chap River (meaning: "quiet river") is a tributary of the Shyok River that flows from the disputed Aksai Chin region administered by China to Ladakh in India. It originates at the eastern edge of the Depsang Plains and flows west, skirt ...
and the
Shyok River
The Shyok River (sometimes spelled Shayok) is a major tributary of the Indus River that flows through northern Ladakh in India and into Gilgit-Baltistan in Pakistan. Originating from the Central Rimo Glacier in the eastern Karakoram, it runs f ...
. In the past, on numerous occasions, the Chong Kumdan glacier has blocked the flow of the
Shyok River
The Shyok River (sometimes spelled Shayok) is a major tributary of the Indus River that flows through northern Ladakh in India and into Gilgit-Baltistan in Pakistan. Originating from the Central Rimo Glacier in the eastern Karakoram, it runs f ...
forming a lake called the Gapshan Lake; once the ice dam melts, the lake drains away. From Gapshan, the Shahi Kangri group of peaks dominate the plains. It lies on the
Sasoma–Saser La-DBO Road which was constructed under the
India–China Border Roads
India–China Border Roads (ICBRs, ICB Roads) is a Government of India project for developing infrastructure along the Line of Actual Control, Sino-Indian border by constructing strategic roads, including bridges and tunnels. The ICBR project ...
program.
[Wildlife Board approves 5 roads in Ladakh, including Daulat Beg Oldie route]
Business Standard, 17 October 2024.
At a campground, Polu (or Pulo/Pola) is a traditional temporary shelter built using local mud, four miles north of DBO along the ''DBO Nala'', Maj A. M. Sethi found a memorial stone left by
Dr. Philips Christiaan Visser in 1935. It lies on the
DBO-Karakoram Pass Road.
[ The memorial stone inside the tent is presently maintained by India's ]Border Roads Organisation
The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) is a statutory body under the ownership of the Ministry of Defence of the Government of India. BRO develops and maintains road networks in India's border areas and friendly neighboring countries. This include ...
(BRO).
Tianwendian
Tianwendian () is the name of a border outpost and a military defence area of China in the northern Aksai Chin region under its administration (as part of Xinjiang). The region is roughly equivalent to the portion of Depsang Plains under Chine ...
("astronomical point") is a border post in the Chinese-controlled territory. It was established after the 1962 war. Before that, another post called Point 5243 served as the main base. From Tianwendian Defence Area, the Chinese have a line of sight
The line of sight, also known as visual axis or sightline (also sight line), is an imaginary line between a viewer/ observer/ spectator's eye(s) and a subject of interest, or their relative direction. The subject may be any definable object taken ...
extending to Siachen glacier
The Siachen Glacier is a glacier located in the eastern Karakoram range of the Himalayas, just northeast of the point NJ9842 where the Line of Control between India and Pakistan ends in northeastern Kashmir. At long, it is the longest glaci ...
, 140 km away. Closer to the Indian-controlled territory is ''forward post 5390'', a PLA observation point which acts as an extension of Tianwendian. The Tiankong Highway within the China-administered Tibet runs parallel to the LAC, connecting Tianwendian and Kongka to the south.
History
Caravan route
The Depsang Plains were regularly traversed by trade caravans, coming via the Karakoram Pass
The Karakoram Pass () is a mountain pass between India and China in the Karakoram Range. It is the highest pass on the ancient caravan route between Leh in Ladakh and Yarkant County, Yarkand in the Tarim Basin. The name 'Karakoram' comes from ...
in the north from Yarkand
Yarkant County,, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency also Shache County,, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency also SASM/GNC ro ...
beyond. Filippo de Filippi, who explored the area in 1913–1914, described:
Filippi also wrote that the experienced caravaners passed through the Depsang Plains without stopping, travelling a distance of 31 miles between Daulat Beg Oldi
Daulat Beg Oldi (also Oldie, DBO) is a traditional campsite and current military base located in the midst of the Karakoram Range in northern Ladakh, India. It is on the historic trade route between Ladakh and the Tarim Basin, and is the last c ...
and Murgo
Murgo, on "Murgo Nala" near Murgo Hotspring, is a small hilly village which lies near the Line of Actual Control in Nubra district of the union territory of Ladakh in India, close to Chinese-controlled Aksai Chin. It is one of the northernmost ...
in a single day. Others stopped, either at Qizil Langar to the south of Depsang La, or at Burtsa further south. A stream running from below Depsang La, called Depsang Nala, waters these parts leading to the growth of the ''burtza'' plant, which served as fodder as well as fuel for the campers.
The trading caravans declined during the 1940s during tensions in Xinjiang
Xinjiang,; , SASM/GNC romanization, SASM/GNC: Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Sinkiang, officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the China, People' ...
(Chinese Turkestan) and completely stopped in the 1950s. In 1953, the Indian consulate in Kashgar
Kashgar () or Kashi ( zh, c=喀什) is a city in the Tarim Basin region of southern Xinjiang, China. It is one of the westernmost cities of China, located near the country's border with Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. For over 2,000 years, Kashgar ...
was closed down. The Indian prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru
Jawaharlal Nehru (14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat, and statesman who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20th century. Nehru was a pr ...
told the Parliament that the Chinese wish to treat Xinjiang
Xinjiang,; , SASM/GNC romanization, SASM/GNC: Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Sinkiang, officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the China, People' ...
as a "closed area". Subsequently, China built the Xinjiang–Tibet highway through Aksai Chin
Aksai Chin is a region administered by China partly in Hotan County, Hotan Prefecture, Xinjiang, and partly in Rutog County, Ngari Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region, Tibet, and constituting the easternmost portion of the larger Kashmir regio ...
starting the Sino-Indian border dispute
The Sino–Indian border dispute is an ongoing territorial dispute over the sovereignty of two relatively large, and several smaller, separated pieces of territory between China and India. The territorial disputes between the two countries st ...
, which persists till the present day.
In modern times, the Darbuk–Shyok–DBO Road (DS–DBO Road) has been laid by India along the old caravan route. From south to north, it passes through Sultan Chushku, Murgo, Burtsa and Qizil Langar, to reach Daulat Beg Oldi (DBO).
Exploration
In 1893, Charles Murray, 7th Earl of Dunmore
Charles Adolphus Murray, 7th Earl of Dunmore VD DL (24 March 1841 – 27 August 1907), styled Viscount Fincastle from birth until 1845, was a Scottish peer, Conservative politician, explorer, author, and artist.
Early life
He was born in Lond ...
, in his daily records of his travels with Major Roche through Ladakh, Tibet and Pamirs
The Pamir Mountains are a range of mountains between Central Asia and South Asia. They are located at a junction with other notable mountains, namely the Tian Shan, Karakoram, Kunlun, Hindu Kush and the Himalaya mountain ranges. They are among ...
, wrote of seeing musk deer
Musk deer can refer to any one, or all eight, of the species that make up ''Moschus'', the only extant genus of the family (biology), family Moschidae. Despite being commonly called deer, they are not true deer belonging to the family Cervidae, b ...
, kiang
The kiang (''Equus kiang'') is the largest of the ''Asinus'' subgenus. It is native to the Tibetan Plateau in Ladakh India, northern Pakistan, Tajikistan, China and northern Nepal. It inhabits montane grasslands and shrublands. Other common nam ...
, Tibetan antelope
The Tibetan antelope or chiru (''Pantholops hodgsonii'') (, pronounced ; ) is a medium-sized bovid native to the northeastern Tibetan plateau. Most of the population live within the Chinese border, while some scatter across India and Bhutan in ...
and a butterfly in the region in and around the Depsang Plains. Dunmore noted that K2, the second highest mountain in the world, could be seen from the plateaus. In 1906, Sven Hedin
Sven Anders Hedin, KNO1kl RVO,Wennerholm, Eric (1978) ''Sven Hedin – En biografi'', Bonniers, Stockholm (19 February 1865 – 26 November 1952) was a Swedish geographer, topographer, explorer, photographer, travel writer and illustrator ...
had travelled east from Burtsa to the Aksai Chin lake on the traditional silk road
The Silk Road was a network of Asian trade routes active from the second century BCE until the mid-15th century. Spanning over , it played a central role in facilitating economic, cultural, political, and religious interactions between the ...
. The traditional route to Shahidula passed through the plains; Kizil Jilga to Haji Langar to Shahidula.
Flora and fauna
The Depsang Plains are widely observed as forming a high-altitude cold desert without any flora or fauna. Filippo de Filippi, who explored the region in the 1910s, wrote that "the surface of the epsangplateau is a mass of minute detritus
In biology, detritus ( or ) is organic matter made up of the decomposition, decomposing remains of organisms and plants, and also of feces. Detritus usually hosts communities of microorganisms that colonize and decomposition, decompose (Reminera ...
, and is entirely devoid of vegetation, except for occasional patches of a yellowish-green plant". A 1985 expedition to the Rimo Glacier found blooming plants at a few places and that "at places heplains are marshy and our mules were sinking and we all had to help them out." Burtse ('' Artemisia spp.'') plant of the Asteraceae
Asteraceae () is a large family (biology), family of flowering plants that consists of over 32,000 known species in over 1,900 genera within the Order (biology), order Asterales. The number of species in Asteraceae is rivaled only by the Orchi ...
family grows along the Burtsa Nala and Depsang Nala, lending its name to the region. Its leaves were used for fodder and its roots as firewood by caravaners.[
] ''Potentilla pamirica'' is also found in the plains.
Small populations of Tibetan antelope
The Tibetan antelope or chiru (''Pantholops hodgsonii'') (, pronounced ; ) is a medium-sized bovid native to the northeastern Tibetan plateau. Most of the population live within the Chinese border, while some scatter across India and Bhutan in ...
(or "chiru"), mountain weasel
The mountain weasel (''Mustela altaica''), also known as the pale weasel, Altai weasel or ''solongoi'', primarily lives in high-altitude environments, as well as rocky tundra and grassy woodlands. This weasel rests in rock crevices, tree trunks, ...
, Ladakh pika, bharal
The bharal (''Pseudois nayaur''), also called the blue sheep, is a Caprinae, caprine native to the high Himalayas. It is the monotypic taxon, only member of the genus ''Pseudois.'' It occurs in Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, and in Ch ...
(blue sheep), Tibetan wolf
The Himalayan wolf (''Canis lupus chanco'') is a canine of debated taxonomy. It is distinguished by its genetic markers, with mitochondrial DNA indicating that it is genetically basal to the Holarctic grey wolf, genetically the same wolf as the ...
and woolly hare
The woolly hare (''Lepus oiostolus'') is a species of mammal in the family Leporidae. It is found in western and central China, northern India, and Nepal, where its typical habitat is montane grassland. It has a wide range and is present in some ...
, among others, can be seen in the plains. According to Brigadier Teg B Kapur, "the epsangplain abounds with wild horses and hares". The populations of chiru are migratory and come to the high-altitude plains for summer grazing. These populations are also the westernmost population of chiru, found at altitudes of up to 5500m. A Schaller Conservation Survey of chiru conducted by the Wildlife Trust of India
The Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) is one of India's leading wildlife conservation action institutions. It works closely with the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change under the Government of India, as well as with the respective sta ...
in 2005 sighted 149 individuals of chiru in 22 groups, all females and kids, in the Depsang area. The southernmost area where chiru were spotted was the Thuksu Doon Doon nullah which flows near the Depsang La. The report says that "Chiru is a mixed feeder and favoured graminoid
In botany and ecology, a graminoid refers to a herbaceous plant with a grass-like morphology, i.e., elongated culms with long, blade-like leaves. They are contrasted with forbs, herbaceous plants without grass-like features.
The plants most ...
s and forb plant species". In the past, Chiru were killed for their fine wool (called shahtoosh
Shahtoosh (from Persian شاهتوش 'king of wools'), also known as Shatoush, is a wool obtained from the fur of the chiru (''Pantholops hodgsonii'', also called Tibetan antelope). Also, shawls made from the wool of the chiru are called shaht ...
) and many efforts have been taken to protect them in India. Populations of Kiang
The kiang (''Equus kiang'') is the largest of the ''Asinus'' subgenus. It is native to the Tibetan Plateau in Ladakh India, northern Pakistan, Tajikistan, China and northern Nepal. It inhabits montane grasslands and shrublands. Other common nam ...
also move back and forth across the disputed border. In 1990, it was reported that the proposed Daultberg–Depsang Sanctuary would contain the last wild yak
The wild yak (''Bos mutus'') is a large, wild bovine native to the Himalayas. It is the ancestor of the domestic yak (''Bos grunniens'').
Taxonomy
The ancestor of the wild and domestic yak is thought to have diverged from '' Bos primigenius' ...
, but Schaller Conservation Survey did not locate any in the 2000s.
DRDO
The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is an agency under the Department of Defence Research and Development in the Ministry of Defence of the Government of India, charged with the military's research and development, headqu ...
-reared double-humped Bactrian camel
The Bactrian camel (''Camelus bactrianus''), also known as the Mongolian camel, domestic Bactrian camel or two-humped camel, is a camel native to the steppes of Central Asia. It has two humps on its back, in contrast to the single-humped drome ...
s (originally used along the silk route) will be deployed at DBO and Depsang by the Indian Army for patrolling and transportation. Zanskar ponies are also being used by the Indian Army.
Sino-Indian border dispute
The Republic of China (1912–1949)
The Republic of China (ROC) began on 1 January 1912 as a sovereign state in mainland China following the 1911 Revolution, which overthrew the Manchu people, Manchu-led Qing dynasty and ended China's imperial China, imperial history. From 1927, ...
, having faced a revolution in Tibet in 1911, apparently made secret plans to acquire Aksai Chin plateau in order to create a road link between Xinjiang and Tibet. These plans began to get manifested in public maps only towards the end of its rule.
While the Republic of China claims included the Aksai Chin proper, they stopped at the foot of the Karakoram mountains, leaving all the rivers that flow into the Shyok River within India, including the Chip Chap River
The Chip Chap River (meaning: "quiet river") is a tributary of the Shyok River that flows from the disputed Aksai Chin region administered by China to Ladakh in India. It originates at the eastern edge of the Depsang Plains and flows west, skirt ...
. (See map.) Communist China also published the "Big Map of the People's Republic of China" in 1956 with a similar boundary, now called the 1956 claim line.[
However, in 1960 China advanced its claim line further west, dissecting the Chip Chap River.] The Chinese said little by way of justification for this advancement other than to claim that it was their "traditional customary boundary" which was allegedly formed through a "long historical process". They claimed that the line was altered in the recent past only due to "British imperialism".
Meanwhile, India continued to claim the entire Aksai Chin plateau.
1962 war
India's Intelligence Bureau patrols had come across indications of Chinese activity in the Depsang Plains prior to 1958. However, the Bureau chief B. N. Mullik has stated that "the Chinese did not come into Depsang Plains till October, 1960".
The 1962 Sino-Indian War
The Sino–Indian War, also known as the China–India War or the Indo–China War, was an armed conflict between China and India that took place from October to November 1962. It was a military escalation of the Sino–Indian border dispu ...
in the Depsang Plains lasted two days, 20–21 October 1962. The Chinese forces in the area were based at Point 5243 in the present day Tianwendian area. The Indian posts, set up in accordance with India's " forward policy", were manned by the 14th battalion of the Jammu and Kashmir Militia
The Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry (JAK LI) is an infantry regiment of the Indian Army. The regimental centre is in Srinagar's Airport Complex at Awantipora, with a winter setup near Jammu. Its regimental insignia consists of a pair of crossed r ...
(later Ladakh Scouts
The Ladakh Scouts is a mountain infantry regiment of the Indian Army, nicknamed as the "Snow Warriors" or "Snow Leopards". The regiment specializes in cold-weather warfare and mountain warfare, long-range penetration, maneuver warfare, raiding w ...
), and were mostly of a platoon
A platoon is a Military organization, military unit typically composed of two to four squads, Section (military unit), sections, or patrols. Platoon organization varies depending on the country and the Military branch, branch, but a platoon can ...
or a section
Section, Sectioning, or Sectioned may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media
* Section (music), a complete, but not independent, musical idea
* Section (typography), a subdivision, especially of a chapter, in books and documents
** Section sig ...
strength.
The Chinese forces first targeted the post they called "Indian Stronghold No. 6" at "Red Top Hill". They regarded this post specially threatening to their lines of communication. As per the Chinese assessment, the attacking troops had a superiority of 10 to 1 in numbers and 7 to 1 in fire power. The post was eliminated in under two hours, with 42 soldiers killed and 20 captured. Following on this success, the Chinese eliminated 6–7 other Indian posts of a section strength (8–10 troops) and 2 further posts on the second day.
The remaining Indian posts were then given permission to withdraw, as they were not tactically sited and had no mutual support. By 24 October, the withdrawal was completed, with the Indians continuing to hold Saser Brangsa, Murgo, Sultan Chushku and the Galwan estuary on the Shyok River. The Chinese forces advanced to their 1960 claim line in most locations. The one exception was the Burtsa Nala valley to the south of Depsang Plains, where the Chinese eliminated the "bulge" in the Indian territory granted in 1960. This area, called Depsang Bulge, continues to be contested till the present day.
Depsang Bulge conflicts
India continues to maintain the bulge in the Indian territory as per China's 1960 claim line as Indian territory, while its troops have been asked to patrol up to the ceasefire line marked on Indian maps (which has been referred to as the Patrol Point 10 or PP-10).
In April 2013, the Chinese PLA troops set up a temporary camp at the mouth of Depsang Bulge, where the Raki Nala and Depsang Nala meet, claiming it to be Chinese territory. But, after a three-week standoff, they withdrew as a result of a diplomatic agreement with India. In 2015, China tried setting up a watch tower near Burtsa. Any threat to Depsang affects India's DS-DBO road. Initially India had stationed about 120 tanks in the SSN, and over the years this number has increased.
During the 2020 standoff, the Depsang Bulge was again mentioned as one of the areas where China extended its claims. It came to light that the Chinese troops had been blocking Indian patrols from proceeding along the Raki Nala valley near a location called "bottleneck" since 2017. After a resolution to the standoff at Pangong Lake
Pangong Tso or Pangong Lake (; zh, s=班公错, p=Bān gōng cuò; ) is an endorheic lake spanning eastern Ladakh and West Tibet situated at an elevation of . It is long and divided into five sublakes, called ''Pangong Tso'', ''Tso Nyak'', ...
in February 2021, it was reported that the Chinese started strengthening their positions at Depsang.
The new line being demanded by China amounted to a loss of 250 square kilometres of territory for India, while the loss from India's perception of the Line of Actual Control was 900 square kilometres.[
]
Sub Sector North
The Indian military's Subsector North (SSN) is east of Siachen Glacier
The Siachen Glacier is a glacier located in the eastern Karakoram range of the Himalayas, just northeast of the point NJ9842 where the Line of Control between India and Pakistan ends in northeastern Kashmir. At long, it is the longest glaci ...
, located between the Saser ridge on the southeastern side and the Saltoro Ridge on the Pakistani border. With regards to a two–front war for India, this area can provide for a linkage for Pakistan and China in Ladakh.[
] The territorial wedge created by Depsang Plains–Karakoram Pass–Shyok Valley prevents this territorial linkup.
See also
* Tianwendian
Tianwendian () is the name of a border outpost and a military defence area of China in the northern Aksai Chin region under its administration (as part of Xinjiang). The region is roughly equivalent to the portion of Depsang Plains under Chine ...
* Daulat Beg Oldi
Daulat Beg Oldi (also Oldie, DBO) is a traditional campsite and current military base located in the midst of the Karakoram Range in northern Ladakh, India. It is on the historic trade route between Ladakh and the Tarim Basin, and is the last c ...
* Sino-Indian border dispute
The Sino–Indian border dispute is an ongoing territorial dispute over the sovereignty of two relatively large, and several smaller, separated pieces of territory between China and India. The territorial disputes between the two countries st ...
*India-China Border Roads
Chinese Indian or Indian Chinese may refer to:
* China–India relations
China and India maintained peaceful relations for thousands of years, but their relationship has varied since the Chinese Communist Party's victory in the Chinese Civil ...
* List of locations in Aksai Chin
This is a list of basins, camping grounds, lakes, mountains, mountain passes, outposts, plains, rivers, ruins, settlements, streams, valleys, villages, and other geographical features located in (or partially included in) the sparsely populated Ak ...
Notes
References
Bibliography
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Further reading
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Murgo to Daulat Beg Oldi (DBO)
''Karakoram Story'', Himalayan Camping, 10 January 2008.
{{Ladakh
Plains of India
Landforms of Jammu and Kashmir
Plains of China
Landforms of Xinjiang
Aksai Chin