India will retaliate if its defences on heights in tense Pangong Lake is breached: Report

The strategic heights in the region are now under India’s control and India is prepared to retaliate if its defences on heights are breached, according to sources, said an NDTV report.

The Indian Army is now controlling the heights on Finger 4, on the north bank of the Pangong lake, where the Chinese deployment had been.

Finger 4 is the place where the Line of Actual Control -- the de facto border between India and China -- exists and the point where the Chinese have been trying to push in.

Indian army now occupies the heights and the soldiers of the two sides are a "few hundred meters" apart, sources said, the NDTV report added.

There are 8 conspicuous"Fingers" or mountain spurs along the banks of the glacial lake located at an elevation of 4,225 m.

Until some time ago, the Chinese army had been focussed on the south bank of Pangong lake, where 5,000 to 7,000 Chinese soldiers are camping. Since the last two weeks, the Chinese army has been trying to regain control over the heights in the south bank of Pangong Lake, areas that have not seen military action so far.

However, India was able to "prevent these attempts to unilaterally alter the status quo" at the LAC, the government had said.

The army has now put barbed wires in on Indian positions. "If Chinese try to cross it'll be crossing a red-line," officials said, reported NDTV.

The report said, quoting the sources that the efforts to intimidate are happening every day and the Chinese have created a "sizeable number of air assets" in the area that has hardly any roads. The report added that the Chinese have added 150 aircraft, helicopters in the area.