Faced with Prospect of 'Siachenised' LAC, Indian Army Prepares for Cold, Long Haul in Ladakh

Faced with Prospect of 'Siachenised' LAC, Indian Army Prepares for Cold, Long Haul in Ladakh

Faced with the prospect of troops having to occupy high-altitude outposts in Ladakh through the winter, the Indian Army has tapped suppliers worldwide to expanded its stockpiles of extreme-cold weather equipment, including clothing designed to provide thermal insulation at temperatures of -50ºC and winds of 40 kilometres an hour, government sources have told News18. The emergency effort to expand the Army’s stockpiles of extreme-weather tents, fibre-reinforced plastic igloos and specialised snow-boots are evidence that the Indian Army is preparing to have to maintain dozens of new high-altitude positions through the winter along the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh. Experts have been warning of the risk that the crisis along the LAC could result in the two armies being pushed into Siachen-like long-term high-altitude deployments in some of the world’s most inhospitable terrain. “There’s a real possibility that both the Indian Army and People’s Liberation Army could end up scrambling t…