As Army Chief Gen Manoj Naravane met troops on the ground in eastern Lakadh on Wednesday and presented commendation cards to those involved in the recent standoffs with China, fresh satellite images of June 22 show that the Chinese observation post destroyed on June 15 during the violent clash in Galwan area is back.
Army Chief Gen. Manoj Naravane, who is in Ladakh on a two-day visit from Tuesday to review the operational situation, met troops on the ground on Wednesday and presented commendation cards to those involved in the recent standoff with China.
“Whenever the Army Chief visits formations or units, it is the norm to award ‘on the spot’ Commendation Cards to personnel who exhibit exceptional devotion to duty,” an Army source said.
Gen. Naravane’s visit to forward areas in Ladakh came a day after the Corps Commanders-level talks between India and China, at which the two sides arrived at a “mutual consensus” to disengage from several standoff points along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Eastern Ladakh.
“The Army Chief visited forward areas in Eastern Ladakh and reviewed the operational situation on the ground. Army Chief commended the troops for their high morale and exhorted them to continue working with zeal and enthusiasm,” the Army said on Twitter. Gen. Naravane visited the Leh military hospital on Tuesday where he interacted with soldiers who were injured in the violent clash in Galwan on June 15, which resulted in the death of 20 soldiers, including a Colonel.
Build-up in Galwan
On June 22, at the Corps Commander level talks, the two sides agreed on the modalities for disengagement from all the “all friction areas” in Eastern Ladakh. However, there is still no clarity on the timeline of the planned phased. Several local commander-level talks are scheduled to take forward the disengagement on the ground at various locations.
Satellite images of the same day from Maxar Technologies and put out by Twitter handle @detresra_ show that between the clash on June 15 and the talks on June 22, China has rebuilt defensive positions in Galwan area just across the LAC inside Indian territory.
Images also put out by Nathan Ruser, researcher at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, an independent think tank based in Canberra, show the small outpost that sparked the June 15 clashes and was destroyed has grown hugely in size. “These maps show the location of all the Indian and Chinese structures, tents and vehicles within the Galwan Valley on both May 22 and June 22. Both India and China have injected a lot of infrastructure in the region. Chinese troops are far more forward,” Mr. Ruser said.