Among the two areas where India and China, on October 21, agreed to end the deadlock over patrolling points is Demchok. Situated bang on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the southeastern-most corner of Ladakh, and among the remotest hamlets in the country, it has immense strategic significance.
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The site of one of the battles during the 1962 Sino-Indian conflict, the area has been witnessing heavy Chinese incursions and confrontations with Indian troops for over a decade. Both sides have heavy military presence in that sector and there have been face-offs over patrolling, grazing by shepherds and construction of structures and infrastructural projects.
A breakthrough in Demchok is significant as the sector has strategic significance for both sides and there had earlier been reluctance on the Chinese part to discuss it. There are seven friction points in eastern Ladakh that have been on the table since 2020. These are Patrol Point (PP) 14 in Galwan, PP-15 in Hot Springs, PP-17A in Gogra, north and south banks of Pangong Tso, Depsang Plains and Demchok.
These are among the two dozen or so sensitive areas earmarked along the LAC, of which there are 13 where incursions occur frequently.
For India, maintaining control over Demchok is critical due to its proximity to the Indus, which is essential for irrigation and water security in Ladakh and North India. It also allows for effective surveillance of Chinese movements and activities in the southern part of Aksai Chin region. The valley also provides a route to both sides into each other’s territories. It is here that the river valley opens up into expansive plains inside India.
The Indus defines the contentious LAC in that area and the use of mechanised forces in some parts of the sector is possible. Across the flatlands and behind the Indus, rising mountains interspersed with riverines and depressions have operational complexities, offering some advantages and some drawbacks to either side.
It takes about seven hours to reach Demchok from Leh, located about 300 km away, via Hanle, with numerous Army camps — some with armoured units — along a well-maintained black-top road.
From Hanle — the site of India’s highest space observatory — the remaining 90-km stretch lies over the world’s highest motorable pass, Umling La, at an elevation of 19,024 ft.
The descent from Umling La leads to the Demchok Plains. Across the valley is territory held by China. Driving along, possible Chinese ingress routes into the area are discernible and mountain tracks are visible. So are some Chinese surveillance cameras located on hilltops. Indian bunkers dot the hillside.
At an altitude of 13,800 ft, Demchok is inhabited by shepherds and nomads numbering less than a hundred. An Indian Army post is co-located with the village.
Opposite Demchok, across the Charding Nullah — a stream that flows into the Indus and defines the LAC — is a Chinese setup referred to as Zorawar Complex. Atop a hillock, a few hundred metres away, is a watch tower and a dome-shaped surveillance post. Satellite overheads show a much larger military establishment behind the hillock.
Along the nullah is a Chinese track on which vehicles can ply. A similar track runs through the rocky terrain on the Indian side. Adjoining the watch-post is a small Chinese village, also called Demchok, with neatly laid single-storey houses amid trees and an odd vehicle parked here and there.
Though Demchok had been relatively peaceful in the decades following the conflict, it erupted after the 2020 standoff with China in eastern Ladakh, with Chinese troops reportedly moving into areas previously patrolled by the Indian Army and erecting structures and other infrastructure.
