Hot Springs and Gogra Post

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In News: According to the source, China told India that it should be “satisfied” with the results of the disengagement in the Pangong Tso sector. China still has platoon-level strength and vehicles at two friction points, Patrolling Point 15 (PP15) in Hot Springs and PP17A near Gogra Post..

What is the difference between PP15 and 17A?

• The Indian Army has been given some positions along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) between India and China that its troops must access in order to patrol the region under its control. 
• The China Study Group decides on these points, which are known as patrolling points, or PPs (CSG).
• CSG is the apex decision-making body in China and was founded in 1976, when Indira Gandhi was Prime Minister.
• These patrolling points, with the exception of Depsang Plains, are on the LAC, and troops use them to maintain control over the region. It’s a crucial exercise because the border between India and China has yet to be officially established.
• Two of the 65 patrolling points along the LAC in Ladakh are PP15 and PP17A. (Some of these 65 have extra Alpha PPs, which are more advanced than the original PPs.) PP17A is therefore distinct from, but similar to, PP17.)
• PP15 is located in an area known as the Hot Springs, while PP17A is near an area called the Gogra post.

What are the locations of these two areas?

• Both are located near the Chang Chenmo river in the LAC’s Galwan sub-sector in eastern Ladakh. 
• Though Hot Springs is located just north of the Chang Chenmo River, Gogra Post is located east of the river’s hairpin bend as it travels southeast from Galwan Valley before turning southwest.
• The region is north of the Karakoram Mountain Range, which is north of the Pangong Tso Lake, and south east of Galwan Valley, which has become a major flashpoint, with a violent clash in June 2020 killing 20 Indian and at least four Chinese troops.

What is the significance of this area?

• The region is close to Kongka Pass, one of the major passes that, according to China, marks the Indian-Chinese border. 
• India’s claim to the international border extends dramatically east, encompassing the entire Aksai Chin region.
• Yang Kung-su, the Tibet Bureau of Foreign Affairs in the Chinese Foreign Office, stated during official negotiations on the boundary between India and China in 1960 that the Western Sector of the boundary “is divided into two portions, with Kongka Pass as the dividing point,” and that the portion “north of Kongka Pass is the boundary between Sinkiang (now Xinjiang) and Ladakh, and the p
• As a result, Hot Springs and Gogra Post are located along the border of two of China’s most traditionally troubled provinces.

What role do they play in the military?

• Both PP15 and PP17A are located in a region where India and China have reached a consensus on the LAC’s alignment, which runs southeast from Galwan Valley, descends at Konga La, and continues to Ann Pass until reaching the north bank of Pangong Tso.
• A big People’s Liberation Army post is located a few kilometres east of Kongka La, while Indian posts are located southwest of it.
• However, the area is not identified as a major “launchpad” from which either side can launch an offensive, according to the official history of the 1962 war between India and China.
• During the 1962 war, Hot Springs was a significant post, according to history. 
• The Galwan Post had a company strength in October 1962, while three other posts—Hot Springs, Nala Junction, and Patrol Base—had platoon strengths. 
• On October 21, the Chinese shelled Hot Spring, which also acted as the Company’s headquarters. At the Nala Junction, Chinese troops attempted to get behind Hot Spring, but were rebuffed.

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