Explainer: 41 years after Siachen capture, the China threat
Forty-one years after the Indian Army captured Siachen Glacier, it is China, and not Pakistan, that poses a greater threat to Indian interests on the 76-km-long strategically located perma-frost in Ladakh.
Siachen is situated like a ‘strategic wedge’ between Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) to its west and Shaksgam valley, illegally ceded by Pakistan to China in 1963, to its north. India lays claim to both areas. The eastern flank of the glacier abuts Depsang plains in Ladakh that form the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China.
On Baisakhi day, April 13, 1983, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi okayed a military plan called ‘Operation Meghdoot’ to capture Siachen. A platoon of the 4th Battalion of the Kumaon Regiment was flown onboard helicopters to Bilafond La (a 17,880 feet high pass in the Karakoram mountains). The Indian flag was raised. Pakistan’s attempts to re-capture were repulsed.
The dispute
After the India-Pakistan war of 1947-48, the Karachi Agreement of 1949 approved a ceasefire line (CFL) between India and Pakistan. The 1965 and 1971 Indo-Pak wars ended in agreements at Tashkent and Shimla, respectively. However, on ground, the Line of Control (LoC) beyond Point NJ 9842 — a reference point on the map — is undefined.
The 1949 agreement said, “From Point NJ 9842, the ceasefire line (CFL) will run northwards to the glaciers.”
India and Pakistan differ on what is ‘northwards to the glaciers’. Islamabad claims the LoC should go north-east and end at Karakoram Pass dividing Ladakh in India and Xinjiang under Chinese control. Post April 1984, Indian troops are stationed along the watershed of the Saltoro Ridge in the Karakoram mountains that runs ‘northwards’ of Point NJ 9842.
PLA FACTOR
The Indian Army has, in the past, war-gamed a scenario that the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) of China can attempt to make a westward thrust through Depsang plains along the LAC in eastern Ladakh.
The PLA’s possible military objective could be to cut off the vital 255-km Darbuk-Shayok-Daulat Baig Oldie (DSDBO) road to restrict Indian access to the Karakoram Pass. Militaries of India and China were involved in a deadly clash alongside the Galwan river in June 2020, just 8-10 km east of the DSDBO road.
Also, the PLA could possibly attempt to seize the 20,000 feet high Saser La, which is west of Depsang and it opens a route to Sasoma and further westwards to the Siachen base camp.
Indian defensive positions have been accordingly ‘militarily tailored’ to hold back the PLA with tanks, artillery guns, latest systems, besides additional troops. The Indian assessment is that PLA can be thwarted if it tries this westward thrust.
On the western flank of Siachen, in PoK, the Chinese, under the guise of road and dam builders, have made an entry. China’s Karakoram Highway, part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, runs close by.
Glacier’s importance
Saltoro Ridge is dominated by the Indian Army and overlooks the Gilgit-Baltistan area of PoK. On the eastern flank, the Indian military guards the routes that provide access to Siachen via the Depsang plains in Ladakh. The northern part of the glacier, ringed by very high peaks, dominates the Shaksgam valley.
De-militarisation
Pakistan had suggested de-militarisation. It was discussed at Track-II diplomatic channels, but without any agreement. From the Pakistan side, the approach to the Saltoro Ridge and the Siachen Glacier is vulnerable as the Indian Army occupies the heights. From an Indian perspective, vacating anything is not possible.
Pak designs
Ambiguity on the alignment of the LoC allowed Pakistan to play its own game. Between 1972 and 1983, it permitted foreign expeditions on the Siachen Glacier and the surrounding peaks, with Pakistani army officers accompanying them.
In India, things happened by coincidence — in 1977, two German mountaineers requested to trek up the 24,600 feet high Mamostong Kangri on the south-east edge of Siachen. India did not give permission, Pakistan did. The location of the Mamostong glacier spurred India into action as it is closer to Depsang in India than to Pakistan.
Col Narinder (Bull) Kumar led the first mountaineering expedition in 1978; the Indian Army did two similar expeditions in 1980 and 1981 before Operation Meghdoot was launched.
India