The 2020 standoff between India and China in Eastern Ladakh marks three years, with disengagement and restoration of status quo yet unresolved. 

• Corps Commander-level talks have enabled partial disengagement, but progress remains slow.

About India-China Border

• China shares land boundaries with 14 countries, including India; the border with India is its third longest after Mongolia and Russia.
• India- China has no mutually agreed Line of Actual Control (LAC).
• Border Sectors:
  • Eastern Sector: Disputed over the McMahon Line.
  • Western Sector: Linked to the Johnson Line, proposed by the British in the 1860s, placing Aksai Chin in Jammu and Kashmir, but China doesn’t recognize it.
  • Middle Sector: The only sector where India and China have exchanged maps and broadly agree on borders.

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Current status of Friction Points on the LAC in Eastern Ladakh

• PP 14 (Galwan): A narrow valley in the Karakoram mountains, located near the LAC and close to Aksai Chin, a disputed area under Chinese control but claimed by India.
  • It was site of the June 2020 violent clash; disengagement achieved through mutual withdrawal.
• PP 15 (Hot Springs): Located north of the Chang Chenmo river, a tributary of the Shyok River within the Indus River system. Disengagement in this region was completed in September 2022.
• PP 17A (Gogra): Location with a Hot spring. It was disengaged in August 2021.
• North and South Banks of Pangong Tso: The world’s highest saltwater lake, divided between Tibet (50% under Chinese control), Ladakh (40% under Indian control), and 10% disputed.
  • This was disengaged in February 2021 with both sides creating buffer zones to prevent future confrontations.
• Depsang Plains: Located in Northern Ladakh near the Daulat Beg Oldi (DBO) post and Karakoram Pass. Its flat terrain makes it suitable for military maneuvers, including tank movements.
  • The Chinese troops block Indian patrols at PPs 10, 11, 11A, 12, and 13. 
  • The DBO airstrip is crucial for winter operations and reinforcements. It is accessible by the 255 km-long Darbuk-Shyok-DBO road.
• Charding Nullah in Demchok: Allows effective surveillance of Chinese activities in the Aksai Chin region; located near the confluence of the Charding Nullah and the Indus River in the Leh district of Ladakh.
  • The dispute is over the Charding La area, with Chinese tents set up across Charding Nullah .

Important Geographical features of Ladakh

• Indus River and major tributaries: Shyok-Nubra, Chang Chenmo, Hanle, Zanskar, and Suru-Dras rivers drain the region.
• Ladakh Range: A southern extension of the Karakoram Range, forming the northeastern bank of the Indus River.
• Zaskar Range: A parallel branch of the Himalayas, east of Ladakh.
• Siachen Glacier: Located in the eastern Karakoram Range along the India-Pakistan border, north of Nubra Valley. It’s the largest glacier outside the polar and subpolar regions.
• Tso Moriri:  It is Located in the Changthang Region of Ladakh and recognized as the highest Ramsar site in the world.
  • It is an oligotrophic lake with alkaline waters.