Indian warplanes take off approximately every quarter of an hour from Liah base (the main city in the northern Indian region of Ladakh); In a sign of military boiling in the Himalayas, after a bloody clash with the Chinese army.
The two Asian giants publicly express their intention to find a peaceful solution to the crisis, after the rare bloody confrontation between their armies on June 15 in a disputed valley in this remote, high-altitude region.
The clash resulted in the deaths of 20 Indian soldiers and an unknown number of soldiers among the Chinese army, and the calming diplomatic statements on the part of New Delhi and Beijing do not prevent a military escalation greater than usual in Ladakh.
Before this crisis, the Indian army was widespread in this mountainous region, located at the intersection of the borders of India and Pakistan China.
Military maneuvers
A retired Indian army officer, Tashi Chipall, has revealed that he has never seen so much military maneuvers in the area, and roadblocks have been erected on main roads, and residents are talking about large motorcades consisting of military transport vehicles and ammunition trucks traveling on the roads.
An Indian Army North Command official - speaking on condition of anonymity - said that thanks to sending reinforcements, "we now have a good force present in the area."
Early weekend talks were held between senior Indian and Chinese generals, who agreed to break up the military clash in the disputed areas of Ladakh. China and India reached a similar agreement in early June, about ten days before the outbreak of the bloody confrontation.
New Delhi accuses Beijing of having seized several areas located on the Indian side of the "actual control line", which is used as a border between the two countries in Ladakh, but it is not properly drawn in some places.
Meanwhile, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is under pressure from public opinion after the killing of 20 military personnel, and calls for a boycott of Chinese products are multiplying.
Economic relations
Analysts do not see a relief in the short term for the crisis, but they consider that the two countries realize the necessity of coexistence and the importance of their economic relations.
Vipin Narang, an expert on international security at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, explained: "There may now be a backlash against China among Indian public opinion, but Pakistan has overlooked China as a threat," he said.
It is noteworthy that India and China are involved in several ancient border disputes, especially in Ladakh (western India), and in Arunachal Pradesh (east).
Clashes have increased in the mountains in recent years between the Indian and Chinese armies, and a bilateral agreement between India and China prohibits the use of firearms along these borders, but their soldiers regularly engage without weapons against the background of controlling a few meters or kilometers.