Depsang Bulge

The Depsang Bulge or Burtsa Bulge
is a 900 square kilometre area
of mountain terrain in the disputed Aksai Chin region, which was conceded to India by China in 1960 but remains under Chinese occupation since the 1962 Sino-Indian War.
P. J. S. Sandhu
It Is Time to Accept How Badly India Misread Chinese Intentions in 1962 – and 2020
The Wire, 21 July 2020. "However, there was one exception and that was in the Depsang Plain (southeast of Karakoram Pass) where they seemed to have overstepped their Claim Line and straightened the eastward bulge."

The area is immediately to the south of Depsang Plains and encloses the basin of the Burtsa Nala (or Tiannan River, ), a stream originating in the Aksai Chin region and flowing west to merge with the Depsang Nala near the village of Burtsa in Ladakh, eventually draining into the Shyok River. The area is perceived to be of strategic importance to both the countries, sandwiched by strategic roads linking border outposts.
Since 2013, China has made attempts to push the Line of Actual Control further west into the Indian territory, threatening India's strategic road.

Geography

The Depsang Bulge is immediately to the south of Depsang Plains. The "bulge", in theoretical Indian territory (had China's 1960 claim line been implemented), encloses the basin of the Burtsa Nala ("Tiannan River" to the Chinese), one of five rivers that drains into the Shyok River after rising in Aksai Chin. Near the campsite of Burtsa, a halting place on the traditional caravan route, the Depsang Nala flowing from the north joins the Burtsa Nala. The combined river flows west to join the Murgo Nala near Murgo and eventually drains into the Shyok River.
All the streams bring snow-melt water, reaching the highest volume in the afternoons, and diminishing to practically nothing at other times.

The Depsang Bulge contains the basin of the upper course of the Burtsa Nala, to the east of Burtsa and the traditional travel route. Based on various Indian news reports, it would appear that the Depsang Bulge area is over 19 km long east to west and about 5 km wide, giving an area of roughly 900 km².Line Of Actual Control: China And India Again Squabbling Over Disputed Himalayan Border
International Business Times, 3 May 2013. "This past week, media reports said that in mid-April a small platoon of China’s People’s Liberation Army soldiers invaded an area in the Himalayan mountains, entering roughly 19 kilometers (11 miles) into Indian territory and setting up camp."

Sushant Singh
What Rajnath Left Out: PLA Blocks Access to 900 Sq Km of Indian Territory in Depsang
The Wire, 17 September 2020. "Of the more than 1,000 square kilometres in Ladakh along the LAC now under Chinese control after tensions erupted in May, the scale of Chinese control in Depsang alone is about 900 square kilometres."

Burtsa is at an elevation of 4800 metres, the source of Burtsa Nala at 5300 metres, and the surrounding hills rise up to 5500–5600 metres. Just beyond the hills to the south is another nala called the Jeong Nala ("Jiwan Nala" to the Indian military, "Nacho Chu" or "Nao Chu" on older maps), which does not have a "bulge" (Map 2).

Numerous tributary streams from the surrounding hills drain into the Burtsa Nala within the Depsang Bulge. Of particular note are two streams, both joining the main nala near a location called "Y-junction". The northern stream, Raki Nala, flows down from the Depsang Plains and hence connects the Depsang Bulge to the Depsang Plains. The southern stream connects it to the Jeong Nala valley. The Indian troops have traditionally used these two valleys to patrol the periphery of the Depsang Bulge.Praveen Swami
As PLA Seeks to Cut Off Indian Patrol Routes on LAC, ‘Bottleneck’ Emerges as Roadblock in Disengagement
News18, 24 June 2020.

Chinese claim lines

The so-called 1956 claim line of China is part of the "Big map of the People's Republic of China" published in 1956. It has special significance in that the Chinese premier Zhou En-lai certified it to the Indian premier Jawaharlal Nehru in a December 1959 letter as showing the correct boundary of China.
The Chinese boundary in this map ran east of all but one of the rivers that drain into the Shyok River. (Map 2, green line)

In June 1960, when the Chinese delegates met the Indian delegates for border discussions, they revealed a new expanded boundary, which has come to be called "the 1960 claim line".
This line dissected all the rivers that drain into Shyok, except for the Burtsa Nala. (Map 2, brown line) Why the Burtsa Nala should have been singled out for this special treatment has not been explained. But the resulting "bulge" in the Indian territory around the Burtsa Nala has been dubbed the Depsang Bulge in popular parlance.

1962 war

Prior to the 1962 war, Indian Army had established half a dozen posts on the hills to the north of the Depsang Bulge. These were mostly of platoon to section strength, manned by Jammu and Kashmir Militia (Ladakh Scouts). The Chinese PLA launched its attack on 20 October 1962 with overwhelming strength, a superiority of 10 to 1 in numbers, and eliminated most of them. The remaining posts were recalled to Burtsa and other rear locations.
The Chinese forces advanced to their 1960 claim line in most locations.

However, at Depsang Bulge, the Chinese troops advanced further than the 1960 claim line, "straightening out the bulge". (Map 2, orange line and Map 3, yellow line) Thus a third line emerged, from the ceasefire line of 1962. More detailed maps of the ceasefire line show a smaller bulge in Indian territory at the mouth of valley.
The US Office of the Geographer's "Large-Scale International Boundaries" (LSIB) dataset shows this boundary (red line in Map 4).

A fourth line was contained in a map attached to a letter written by the Chinese premier Zhou En-lai to heads of certain non-aligned countries (or "African and Asian nations") in the midst of the 1962 war. A more detailed version of the Chinese map was in fact used by the non-aligned nations in arriving at their Colombo proposals. (Map 3) However the Chinese apparently continue to use their version of the map, which they misleadingly call the " LAC of 1959". It is apparently not drawn to scale. But they interpret the ceasefire line here running very near the confluence of the Depsang Nala with the Burtsa Nala.

The Indian depiction of the ceasefire line, as shown in Maps 2 and 3, is at a considerable distance from the confluence. Indeed, the Indian base at the confluence, Burtsa, is one of the locations where defences continued to be organised even as the clashes subsided. The Indian version of the ceasefire line was supported by the non-aligned countries in their Colombo proposals, (Map 3) as well as the US Government (Map 2).

1962–2012

After the 1962 war, both India and China were preoccupied with other issues and essentially left the border alone for several decades. By 1976, the Chinese preoccupation with the Tibetan rebels had ended and India also acquired much better information about the border. The Indian Cabinet established a China Study Group to recommend "patrolling limits, rules of engagement and the pattern of Indian presence" along the border. Consequently, both sides gradually moved up to the line, asserting their presence. The patrols often criss-crossed and the different perceptions of the LAC became manifest.

Between 2003 and 2008, China embarked on large-scale infrastructure development in the run-up to the Beijing Olympics. Starting in 2010, the Aksai Chin Road (G219) was re-paved at a cost of $476 million.
Along with it, numerous improvements to the border infrastructure in Aksai Chin also became visible, increasing the pressure on the LAC. An existing road to the Heweitan military base (roughly at the head of the Jeong Nala) was improved and extended to join the Tianwendian Highway in the north. This new strategic road, labelled " Tiankong Highway", ran immediately next to the Depsang Bulge in the east. (Map 4)
In 2009, a loop road was constructed in Depsang Plains in an area called "Trig Heights", close to the LAC (or, in the Indian view, ''across'' their perceived LAC).
R. N. Ravi
Smaller nations stand up to China's hegemony, we don't
Rediff, 29 April 2013. "They built a 20 km motorable road along Jeevan Nallah in 2010 and 15 km long motorable road along Raki Nallah from JAK II to GR 626516 he grid reference of the Y-junctionin 2011—both on the Indian side in the Depsang Plain ulgewithout a scintilla of resistance." See also: R. N. Ravi, China's strategic push in Ladakh, Assam Tribune, 22 May 2013. .

Branching off from the loop road, an access road through the Raki Nala valley to Burtsa Nala was also constructed.
By 2013, the Chinese had the ability to ply vehicles in the Raki Nala river bed. (Map 5)
Rajat Pandit, Sanjay Dutta
Chinese incursion 19km, but 750 sq km at stake for India
Times of India, 2 May 2013: "While China on Tuesday rebuffed India's plea to withdraw its troops, squatting 19km inside Indian territory at Raki Nala in the Depsang Bulge area, fresh imagery from Indian spy drones has shown that the People's Liberation Army has already started using trucks to replenish supplies for over 30 soldiers stationed there. The pictures, which also show that PLA is trying to convert the track there into a proper road, are transforming what the government had called a "localised problem" into a first-rate diplomatic crisis."

Mail Today Bureau
Let's shake hands: 20 days on, China withdraws troops from Ladakh
India Today, 5 May 2013: "A platoon of Chinese troops, around 40 in number, had pitched tents on April 15 in the dry bed of Raki Nala. They had two dogs and standard arms and were supported by three vehicles that would move between the face-off point and the Chinese tents."

Coupled with these constructions, the Indian Army also reported a steep rise in incursions by the Chinese PLA into Indian territory: 50 incursions during 2005, 70 in 2009 in the Trig Heights area, 30 incursion in 2009 in the Depsang Bulge area. Given that the Indians regard the entire Depsang Bulge as Indian territory, all the constructions in the area were "Chinese intrusions".
R. N. Ravi

Rediff, 13 May 2013.

The Indians were also improving their border infrastructure during this period, albeit at a slower pace. The air strip at Daulat Beg Oldi (DBO) at the northern perimeter of Depsang Plains was reactivated in 2008, after a gap of 43 years. The Chinese immediately objected to this action.
India also commissioned a road link to DBO in 2001, scheduled to be completed by 2012. The initial road did not meet the all-weather requirement, and it had to be rebuilt on an improved alignment later. But several sections of it were available for winter use by 2013.

2013 standoff

On the night of 15 April 2013, three weeks before a scheduled visit of the Chinese Premier Li Keqiang to India, a platoon of Chinese troops intruded into the Indian territory and erected a tented post. The Indian border police spotted an advance patrol of theirs the next morning at a distance of 600 metres from the Indian post. Aerial reconnaissance detected the tented post on the Raki Nala, on the site of an old Indian post. It had 19 Chinese soldiers (later mentioned as 40), including five officers, two dogs and three SUVs.
The Chinese held placards reading "this is Chinese territory, go back".

The location of the standoff was described as being 19 km inside Indian territory. Years later, the location was stated as the so-called "bottleneck" in the Burtsa Nala valley, where the rocky formation of the valley prohibits vehicular movement.
Sushant Singh
Closer to strategic DBO, China opens new front at Depsang
The Indian Express, 25 June 2020. "Bottleneck, which derives its name from a rocky outcrop that prevents vehicular movement across the Depsang plains, is the place at which the Chinese had pitched tents after an ingress in April 2013."

Snehesh Alex Philip
Why Depsang Plains, eyed by China, is crucial for India’s defence in Ladakh
The Print, 19 September 2020. "The Indians can reach the Bottleneck by road but further travel is only possible by foot through two different routes."

The "bottleneck" is also close to a point called "Y-junction" where a branch valley emanates to the southeast, allowing the Indian patrols to reach other points on the LAC.

The Indian border troops set up their own tented camp 300 metres away as per the agreed protocol. India's China Study Group met and recommended stern measures to signal India's displeasure. However, prime minister Manmohan Singh decided that it should be treated as a "localised problem". The local commanders of both the sides met at the Chushul–Moldo Border Personnel Meeting point. While the Indian side asked the Chinese to withdraw to original positions as per the 1976 border patrolling agreement, the Chinese produced a map they described as the " LAC of 1959". According to the map, the entire Depsang Bulge belonged to China.

Indian ambassador in China S. Jaishankar picked up the matter with Deng Zhen Hua, the Director-General of boundary affairs in the Chinese Foreign Ministry, and asked for the incursion to be rolled back. Around the same time, the Indian troops in the Chumar sector in southern Ladakh constructed a tin shed at their patrol point close to the LAC. Director-General Deng asked for the structure to be removed. At the border personnel meeting on 23 April, the Chinese officers repeated the demand and also asked for the removal of "bunkers" at Fukche (also in southern Ladakh). The Indian government in Delhi sent additional diplomatic signals to force the pace of negotiations and the Indian forces detained two Chinese officials who came to investigate the shed at Chumar. The Chinese eventually disengaged on 5 May and took some retaliatory actions at Chumar.

2020–2022 standoff

After the 2013 standoff, India established a permanent post to the west of the Y-junction and bottleneck, from where Indian troops observed and stopped any Chinese patrols attempting to come beyond this point. Indian patrols however continued their old patrol routes on foot going through the Y-junction. These patrols reached the Patrol Point 10 upstream along the Raki Nala, and made a circuit through the Patrol Points 11, 11A, 12 and 13, returning back to the Y-junction.

During the 2020–2022 China–India skirmishes, it was reported that a standoff was occurring again at the "bottleneck" or "Y-junction". As the Indian patrols attempted to go beyond the bottleneck by foot, Chinese troops were reportedly coming up in vehicles and blocking their passage.
Dinakar Peri
LAC standoff , If PLA comes close, Indian troops can fire: official
The Hindu, 24 September 2020. "Beyond the Y-junction, Indian patrols had to go on foot, which were being blocked by Chinese vehicles, the official stated, adding that patrol parties followed protocols and returned."

Snehesh Alex Philip
Indian soldiers at LAC have go-ahead to open fire in self-defence, India tells China
The Print, 24 September 2020. '"We go by foot beyond Bottleneck as vehicles cannot cross that area. The Chinese observe our movement and they have deployed two vehicles that come and block our path well before Patrol Point 10. But we have been reaching our patrolling points using other routes," a source said.'

In order to avoid confrontation with the Chinese troops, the Indian patrols were apparently asked to not go beyond the bottleneck point.
Thus they were unable to reach Patrol Point 10 in the Raki Nala valley and related Patrol Points 11, 11A, 12 and 13 along their perceived Line of Actual Control.

Indian government officials have claimed that the Chinese obstruction at the bottleneck has been going on since the 2017 Doklam standoff, and hence it was a "legacy issue" unrelated to the 2020 standoff.
Sushant Singh
Silence on Depsang may be linked to Pangong resolution
The Indian Express, 18 July 2020. " n intelligence officialclaimed that Indian patrols have not accessed these areas since 2017."

Snehesh Alex Philip
India-China tensions at Depsang, a disengagement sticking point, began much before May
The Print, 8 August 2020. "According to locally established agreements, both sides were allowed patrolling until certain areas that fell into individual perceptions of the LAC, but sources said the practice 'came under stress' after the Doklam stand-off of 2017."

Former Army officers have however contested the assertion, claiming that regular patrols have been going on ever since the 2013 Depsang standoff ended.
Lt. Gen. Rakesh Sinha
Eastern Ladakh: NTR - 'Trust but Verify' Information!
Vivekananda International Foundation, 28 April 2021. "To now state that we were not able to reach our LOP imits of Patrollingsince 2013 as PLA was blocking our movement, is pure heresy..."

Explanatory notes

Citations

General bibliography

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Further reading

* {{citation , last=Singh , first=Mandip , title=Chinese Intrusion into Ladakh: An Analysis , journal=Journal of Defence Studies , volume=7 , number=3 , date=July–September 2013 , pages=125–136 , url=https://idsa.in/system/files/jds_7_3_MandipSingh.pdf

External links

Depsang Bulge
marked on OpenStreetMap, retrieved 25 January 2021.

Burtsa Nala and Depsang Nala
marked on OpenStreetMap, retrieved 25 January 2021.

Borders of Ladakh
China–India relations
Leh district
Territorial disputes of China
Territorial disputes of India