Even though claims have been made by certain sections of the Chinese media regarding the deployment of “robotic soldiers” along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), Indian security establishment has denied sighting any of their “robots”, news agency ANI reported quoted its sources in security forces.
The ANI sources pointed out the inability of the PLA troops to maintain positions at such heights (such as Tibet which is 4830 metres above the sea level) in such unforgiving climate conditions where temperatures drop to as low as minus 20 to minus 40 degrees Celsius. Taking a dig at the PLA, they said that the “robotic soldiers” will help their human counterparts in surviving the local harsh conditions.
For the second year in a row, the Chinese have had to maintain troops across the LAC, near the friction points in the eastern Ladakh district owing to border dispute which erupted in May 2020. The sources said that the Chinese troops have found it incredibly difficult to acclimatise to the local environment, going as far as avoiding coming out of the barracks unless to run important errands. As per reports, in some of the positions the PLA were forced to rotate its soldiers on a daily basis with heavy restrictions on their movements in order to avoid any serious physical or psychological injuries. As per media reports, the PLA had to replace 90 percent of the deployed troops with the advent of summer as they had suffered winter-borne injuries and trauma.
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The sources argued that the Indian troops, owing to their regular operational deployments in high altitude regions, such as Siachen Glacier, are more acclimatised to the challenges of the altitudes. The Indian Army rotates 40-50 percent of troops every year.
