copenlu/druid huggingface dataset:
Claim: Depsang Plains is a territory of People's Republic of China (Depsang Plains, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2024-09-21): The Depsang Bulge[3] or Burtsa Bulge[4] is a 900-square-kilometre area[1] of mountain terrain in the disputed Aksai Chin region, which was conceded to India by China in 1960, but has remained under Chinese occupation since the 1962 Sino-Indian War.[5] The area is immediately to the south of the Depsang Plains and encloses the basin of the Burtsa Nala (or Tiannan River, Chinese: 天南河), 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.[6] Since 2013, China has made attempts to push the Line of Actual Control further west into Indian territory, threatening India's strategic road. [...] - ^ Snehesh Alex Philip, Why Depsang Plains, eyed by China, is crucial for India’s defence in Ladakh, The Print, 19 September 2020. "The Chinese claim line here is about 1.5 km from an Indian military camp in an area known as Burtse."
Claim: Depsang Plains is a territory of People's Republic of China (Depsang Plains, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2023-06-04): Demchok is one of the two mutually agreed disputed areas in Eastern Ladakh, while Depsang is another friction point. In Demchok while there are varying claims in the Charding La area, China has set up tents on this side of Charding nala. The crucial Sub-Sector North (SSN) consists of the Depsang plains and Daulat Beg Oldie (DBO). Currently, the airfield at DBO is accessible by the 255 km-long Darbuk-Shyok-DBO (DSDBO) road. A plan for an alternate axis across Saser La which has an ancient trade route, is in the works. In Depsang Plains, Chinese troops have been blocking Indian Army patrols from going up to the PPs 10, 11, 11A, 12 and 13, beyond the Y junction. Chinese build-up in this area threatens Indian positions at DBO and also brings Chinese troops closer to the DSDBO road. Depsang is also close to the Karakoram pass overlooking the strategic Saltoro ridge and Siachen glacier, the world’s highest battlefield. As reported by The Hindu earlier, senior officials have stated that the Indian Army last accessed the patrolling points in Depsang in January/February 2020.
Claim: Depsang Plains is a territory of People's Republic of China (Depsang Plains, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2021-03-01): Night-time satellite images have revealed the Chinese buildup in the Depsang region near the Line of Actual Control. [...] After initial breakthrough in Pangong, the focus of the negotiation is on Depsang plains where China has come in around 18 km since 2013. [...] Depsang plains are also close to China’s western highway G219. Depsang at 16,000 feet north of Shyok River is strategically important as it provides India, the Daulet Beg Oldie airstrip and Karakoram Pass further north.
Claim: Depsang Plains is a territory of People's Republic of China (Depsang Plains, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2020-09-18): The Depsang Plains represent a high-altitude gravelly plain at the northwest portion of the disputed Aksai Chin region of Kashmir, divided into Indian and Chinese administered portions across a Line of Actual Control.[2][3] India controls the western portion of the plains as part of Ladakh, whereas the eastern portion is controlled by China and claimed by India.[4] The Line of Control with Pakistan-administered Gilgit-Baltistan is 80 kilometres (50 mi) west of the Depsang Plains with the Siachen Glacier in-between.[5] Ladakh's traditional trade route to Central Asia passed through the Depsang Plains, with the Karakoram Pass lying directly to its north. [...] The Depsang Plains are located in the north-western part of Aksai Chin.[9] They are bounded on the north by the valley of the Chip Chap River and on the west by the Shyok River. On the east they are bounded by low hills of the "Lak Tsung" range, which separate them from the basin of the Karakash River. In the south, the Depsang Plains proper end at the Depsang La pass, but in common parlance, the Depsang region is taken to include the mountainous region to the south of it, including the "Depsang Bulge". The latter is a bulge in theoretical Indian territory, housing the Raki Nala, which joins the Depsang Nala near Burtsa to form the Burtsa Nala.
Claim: Depsang Plains is a territory of People's Republic of China (Depsang Plains, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2021-10-18): China, India border dispute: deadlock over pulling back troops from key Himalayan pass - New Delhi rejected Beijing’s demand that it pull back thousands of reserve troops and weaponry it brought to the Depsang Plains and other areas - India does not want to move them too far back as they are acclimatised to the altitude. Sources say this setback raises the prospect for another tense winter [...] The Depsang Plains is split by the Line of Actual Control – a disputed but de facto boundary between India and China that runs along the Himalayas – and had previously been patrolled by both Indian and Chinese troops. China last year positioned troops at key locations in the plains, denying India access to 300 square kilometres (116 square miles) of land ever since, the people said.
Claim: Depsang Plains is a territory of People's Republic of China (Depsang Plains, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2021-08-09): The standoff was triggered by China’s occupation of territory on the Indian side of the LAC at Depsang, Galwan Valley, Gogra-Hot Springs, and Pangong Tso in April-May last year. [...] However, it is securing disengagement at Depsang, which is likely to be the most challenging. Depsang’s strategic value to India and China is immense. India’s Daulat Beg Oldie airstrip is barely 20 kilometers from the Karakoram pass and is India’s lifeline to the Siachen glacier. The Chinese have stubbornly refused to discuss disengagement from Depsang with India.
Claim: Depsang Plains is a territory of People's Republic of China (Depsang Plains, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2023-12-04): With the conclusion of the 20th Party Congress last month which consolidated President Xi Jinping’s continued reign for an unprecedented third term, there are daunting and potentially ominous times ahead for its two immediate neighbours–Taiwan and India. Let us begin with the latter, the Chinese have shown considerable truculence in their negotiations with India. As reported recently, an Indian intelligence report indicates that the Chinese are in no mood to vacate territory claimed by India in the Depsang plains of Ladakh. The territory on which Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) units are perched is 18 kilometres inside India’s claim lines, and the PLA has significantly enhanced its development of infrastructure along the Western sector. The Modi government would be well advised to be cautious and disabused of any temptation to concede the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) land grab, notwithstanding the Modi-Xi handshake at the G-20 Summit in Bali. This is reinforced by the Indian Army Chief General Manoj Pande’s recent statement that while the contested border is "…stable… unpredictable". The Depsang Plains is a strategically important territory, because the PLA’s control threatens India’s control over the Siachen Glacier, bringing the Indian Army under a pincer from both China and Pakistan.
Claim: Depsang Plains is a territory of People's Republic of China (Depsang Plains, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2021-04-21): The stage was set for the crisis in May, when thousands of PRC soldiers, together with trucks, tanks, and artillery, moved into territory at several points along the LAC that India believed it controlled, mostly in Ladakh, at the western end of the disputed border. According to defence journalist and retired Indian Army colonel Ajai Shukla, the Indian Army had observed a build-up of People’s Liberation Army (PLA) units throughout April, but its analysts interpreted this as preparations for routine drills held in the area each spring.1 The PLA advanced several kilometres down the Galwan Valley, setting up a new encampment and blocking an Indian road under construction. Almost simultaneously, about 100 kilometres to the south, Chinese soldiers seized an eight-kilometre-wide stretch of territory along the northern shore of Pangong Lake. This denied India access to an area it had previously patrolled, leading to minor scuffles when the PLA refused access to Indian troops. The PLA also occupied territory previously subject to overlapping control at several other points along the LAC, including Hot Springs and Depsang Plains, as well as North Sikkim, several hundred kilometres away.
Claim: Depsang Plains is a territory of People's Republic of China (Depsang Plains, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2020-07-06): The Chip Chap River flows from the disputed Aksai Chin region in southern Xinjiang of China to Ladakh in India. It originates at the eastern edge of the Depsang plains and flows west, skirting around the Depsang Plains in the north. It discharges into the Shyok river. It is one of the upstream tributaries of the Indus river. The upper course of the river is in a relatively flat area with a drop of only 190 metres over 30 km. Several mountain streams from the south drain into the relatively stagnant pool of water in this area. Near the LAC that separates the Indian and Chinese controlled portions of Depsang Plains, the Lungnak Lungpa stream joins from north. Another stream passing by Daulat Beg Oldi (DBO) joins the river in the Indian controlled area. The combined river joins the Shyok at an elevation of 4800 m. The 1899 British offer to China for the border in Aksai Chin (The Macartney–Macdonald Line) placed the entire course of the Chip Chap River in the Indian territory. The 1956 claim line of China also did the same. [...] The Depsang Plains are located at the LAC that separates the Indian and Chinese controlled regions. The Chinese Army occupied most of the plains in 1962. India controls the western portion of the plains as part of Ladakh, whereas the eastern portion is part of the Aksai Chin region, which is controlled by China and claimed by India. In April 2013, the Chinese PLA troops set up a temporary camp in the Depsang Bulge, but later withdrew as a result of a diplomatic agreement with India.
Claim: Depsang Plains is a territory of People's Republic of China (Depsang Plains, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2022-12-14): In Ladakh, there is now a standoff between the Indian and Chinese troops. There might have been some disengagement here and there, but the Chinese are in no mood to vacate territory claimed by India in the Depsang plains of Ladakh. [...] Because of this fear, China opposes the Dalai Lama’s visits to Tawang and stresses its claim to the town. And this explains why Dai Bingguo, who served as China’s special representative on the boundary issue between 2003 and 2013, has suggested that the border dispute could be resolved if New Delhi accepts Beijing’s claim over Tawang.
Claim: Depsang Plains is a territory of People's Republic of China (Depsang Plains, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2021-12-18): We found the PLA occupying strategically important positions immediately thereafter, at Demchok and northwards at Pangong Tso, Ghogra , at places overlooking the recently completed Darbuk – Shyok – DBO road and eventually at Depsang Plains. This phenomenon clearly indicated well-orchestrated designs including at great speed, building infrastructure again at Demchok, Pangong Tso, in the Galvan Valley and not to be ignored positioning of tanks at Pangong Tso and most importantly in Depsang Plains. [...] But democratic and pluralistic India, however, has to care for its people, its territory and its ethos. It cannot lower its guard against an expansionist adversary who is eyeing the Indian base at Daulat Beg Oldi with its armour at a distance of 30-km in the Depsang Plains.
Claim: Depsang Plains is a territory of People's Republic of China (Depsang Plains, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2014-09-19): The decade past has found that Beijing, perhaps buoyed by fruition of her military modernisation, is no more able to restrain from exercising her tactic of forcing gradual migration into claimed territories. Having already firmed up her possession of the Aksai Chin and Shaksgam Valley, she is engaged in preparing grounds for her next phase of expansionism through outlandish claims over the Arunachal Pradesh and many other bits. Accordingly, the LAC is subject to increasing intrusions at Hayuliang-Fish Tail, Asaphila-Longju and Lungma-Kerang areas in the Eastern Sector, Thag La – Barahoti areas in the Central Sector and Chumar, Demchok, Pangong Tso, Depsang Plains and Daulat Beg Oldi areas in the Western Sector of the Indo-Tibet Border. In the process, the PRC has advanced its notional claim-lines well into the Indian territory.
Claim: Depsang Plains is a territory of People's Republic of China (Depsang Plains, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2023-08-22): Prominent issues being faced by the Indian Forces are that they have lost their patrolling areas whilst Chinese troops are deeper into Indian territory. Legacy issues such as Depsang Plains and Demchok remain untouched. Whilst Demchok raises fears about further salami slicing but from a strategic point Depsang plains are truly cardinal for India. Over the years the Chinese Forces have built permanent structures and they are there to stay. Because it is not merely that the Chinese forces have encroached into India , as largely claimed by Indian commentators but a much larger nefarious design seems to unfold. It is around these lands that the big picture needs to be seen. The Depsang Plains are close to DaulatBeg Oldie (DBO), India’s highest airstrip. The Karakoram Pass lies to the North West of DBO at a distance of approximately 17 to 18 KMs. This area is contiguous to Pak Occupied Kashmir (POK) and adjacent to the portion of POK comprising Shaksgam Valley which was illegally ceded by Pakistan to China in 1963 through a border agreement between the two. I would without any fear of contradictions conclude that the collusion between Pakistan and China commenced with this chicanery.
Claim: Depsang Plains is a territory of People's Republic of China (Depsang Plains, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2023-12-04): One interpretation is that the Chinese are signalling something. The interpretation, too, is a bit troublesome. In their study Paul H.B. Godwin and Alice L. Miller (China’s Forbearance Has Limits: Chinese Threat and Retaliation Signaling and Its Implications for a Sino- American Military Confrontation INSS, NDU, 2013) note that there is a hierarchy of signals. At the first level are statements of Politburo members, PRC officials, PLA leaders in meetings with foreign guests. At another level are speeches by these leaders at banquets and press conferences and at the third level are interviews of PRC leaders with the foreign media. Then there are official protests by government spokesmen or Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson. At the third level are editorials and commentaries in the People’s Daily and other authoritative newspapers. In the case of the Chinese action on the Depsang plains, the act of establishing an encampment was the signal and the statements and commentaries quite benign. Indeed, at the highest level the statements were quite baffling. The provocative Chinese action on the Depsang Plain must be taken in conjunction with two statements of Communist Party of China General Secretary Xi Jinping. On 19 March, speaking to BRICS country correspondents in Beijing, Mr. Xi repeated the five proposals for better China-India relations that had originally been mooted by his predecessor, Hu Jintao -- the need to maintain "strategic communication" to undertake "win win" cooperation, foster stronger "cultural ties" and coordination in multilateral affairs and finally to accommodate each other’s "core concerns."
Claim: Depsang Plains is a territory of People's Republic of China (Depsang Plains, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2024-04-09): Depsang Plains (reinforced border defense units, air defense site) No Google Earth imagery was available for most of the Depsang Plains from the spring of 2020 to early 2021 during the major influx of troops into the region. A portion of the plains was imaged in August 2022, centering on the Tianwendian border defense company, and shows at least six relatively new camps constructed within a six-mile radius of the company’s permanent barracks.39 A new compound composed of prefabricated shelters, vehicle sheds, and solar panels had been erected immediately adjacent to the preexisting company barracks. The layout and vehicles present suggest the company had been reinforced with units from the border defense regiment at Sanshili Yingfang. Less than one mile northeast of the facility, a site capable of supporting an air defense battalion had also been built. This position, however, is likely occupied by elements from the Xinjiang MD air defense brigade or a combined arms division firepower regiment.
Claim: Depsang Plains is a territory of People's Republic of China (Depsang Plains, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2024-09-30): People's Republic of China's position [edit]The Depsang Plains are located on the border of the Indian union territory of Ladakh and the disputed zone of Aksai Chin. The Chinese Army controls most of the plains,[4] while India controls the western portion of the plains.[5] The dispute remains unresolved.[6] [...] - ^ Manoj Joshi (2013-05-07). "Making sense of the Depsang incursion". The Hindu. Retrieved 2014-03-15.
Claim: Depsang Plains is a territory of People's Republic of China (Depsang Plains, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2017-08-09): On June 16, China started building a road in the Doklam area in the Himalayas in territory claimed by China and Bhutan, near the border with India. Two days later, on Bhutan’s behalf, Indian troops crossed a settled boundary to stop China’s construction. Around 300 troops from India and China have been facing off since, in one of the most serious border standoffs between the two Asian powers in decades. China has demanded that Indian troops withdraw first, while India has called for simultaneous withdrawal. With their armies facing off, each country has unleashed diverging narratives about what is going on in Doklam. [...] In recent years, India and China have had two major standoffs. The first on the Depsang Plains in April 2013, where instead of patrolling a disputed area, the Chinese changed their behavior and established a camp at a key location that would have prevented Indian patrols from moving in the area. In 2014, the problem was in the Chumur area of Ladakh, and it occurred, significantly, during the visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to New Delhi. Both were terminated through diplomacy.
Claim: Depsang Plains is a territory of People's Republic of China (Depsang Plains, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2024-01-24): Long-standing border disputes that led to a Sino–Indian war in 1962 have again become a flashpoint in recent years. In April 2013, the most serious border incident between India and China in more than two decades occurred when Chinese troops settled for three weeks several miles inside northern Indian territory on the Depsang Plains in Ladakh. A visit to India by Chinese President Xi Jinping in September 2014 was overshadowed by another flare-up in border tensions when hundreds of Chinese PLA forces reportedly set up camps in the mountainous regions of Ladakh, prompting Indian forces to deploy to forward positions in the region. This border standoff lasted three weeks until both sides agreed to pull their troops back to previous positions.
Claim: Depsang Plains is a territory of People's Republic of China (Depsang Plains, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2023-08-31): In New Delhi, a meeting of the China Study Group (CSG) was called at the Ministry of Defence to develop a response to the incursion.6 The group recommended that a forthcoming army delegation meeting with the PLA at Chengdu be called off to send a signal of objection to Beijing. According to Gupta’s detailed account, the prime minister vetoed the move and argued that the local problem could be handled diplomatically. Subsequently, a border patrol meeting was called at Spanggur Gap, near Pangong Tso. When asked to withdraw to its original position as per the 1976 border-patrolling agreement, the PLA produced a map from 1959 to contend India’s claim. The map from November 1959 showed the LAC running parallel to the Raki Nala, thereby implying that the Depsang Bulge was within Chinese-held territory. The PLA’s preparedness at the border patrol meeting demonstrated China’s intent to change ground position.
Claim: Depsang Plains is a territory of Republic of China (Depsang Plains, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2024-04-04): The Depsang Plains, a high-altitude gravelly plain in the northwest portion of the disputed Aksai Chin region of Kashmir, divided into Indian and Chinese administered portions by a Line of Actual Control.[2][3] India controls the western portion of the plains as part of Ladakh, while the eastern portion is controlled by China and claimed by India.[4] The Line of Control with Pakistan-administered Gilgit-Baltistan is 80 kilometres (50 mi) west of the Depsang Plains, with the Siachen Glacier in-between.[5] Ladakh's traditional trade route to Central Asia passed through the Depsang Plains, with the Karakoram Pass lying directly to its north. The Depsang plains are also part of the area called Sub-Sector North (SSN) by the Indian military.[6] The area sees frequent tension between China and India. Major standoffs between the two countries occurred in 2013, 2015 and 2020. [...] Geography [edit]The Depsang plains are located in the north-western Aksai Chin.[9] They are bounded on the north by the valley of the Chip Chap River and on the west by the Shyok River. On the east, they are bounded by low hills of the Lak Tsung range, which separate them from the basin of the Karakash River. In the south, the Depsang Plains proper end at the Depsang La pass, but in common parlance, the Depsang region is taken to include the mountainous region to the south of it, including the "Depsang Bulge". The latter is a bulge in theoretical Indian territory, housing the upper course of the Burtsa Nala.
Claim: Depsang Plains is a territory of Republic of China (Depsang Plains, 2024-10-09)
Evidence (2023-06-04): Demchok is one of the two mutually agreed disputed areas in Eastern Ladakh, while Depsang is another friction point. In Demchok while there are varying claims in the Charding La area, China has set up tents on this side of Charding nala. The crucial Sub-Sector North (SSN) consists of the Depsang plains and Daulat Beg Oldie (DBO). Currently, the airfield at DBO is accessible by the 255 km-long Darbuk-Shyok-DBO (DSDBO) road. A plan for an alternate axis across Saser La which has an ancient trade route, is in the works. In Depsang Plains, Chinese troops have been blocking Indian Army patrols from going up to the PPs 10, 11, 11A, 12 and 13, beyond the Y junction. Chinese build-up in this area threatens Indian positions at DBO and also brings Chinese troops closer to the DSDBO road. Depsang is also close to the Karakoram pass overlooking the strategic Saltoro ridge and Siachen glacier, the world’s highest battlefield. As reported by The Hindu earlier, senior officials have stated that the Indian Army last accessed the patrolling points in Depsang in January/February 2020.