Daulat Beg & Galwan Valley importance for both India & China
By
Retd. Lt. General Tariq Khan
(Notes)

1. A small town called Daulat Beg (DB) is the centre of attention. India had built a small military base, perhaps a battalion in DB since long.

The critical factor about DB is that it is only 8 miles from the Karakorum Pass which can provide access to Gilgit, Baltistan. Its strategic importance is it connects Leh to DBO at the base of the Karakoram Pass that separates China Xinjiang Chinese autonomous region
from Ladakh.

DBO itself is less than 10 km west of the LAC at Aksai Chin. A military outpost was created by Indians in DBO to make a Military strategic move on Aksai Chin if necessary. This is also the critical region to where China is currently constructing the China-Pakistan Economic

(CPEC) in Azad Kashmir & Gilgit Baltistan.

In the last one year or so, India has upgraded the base to brigade level by connecting it to the internal road network. This is a crucial development having grave consequences for Pakistan, China/Pakistan CPEC & BRI.

Indians constructed a road Darbuk-Shyok-Daulat Beg in October last year with the sole purpose of supplying the DB Brigade. Chinese made a strategic move, and landed 5,000 troops inside Galwan Valley. The Chinese have created new facts on the ground and pushed the Indian Army to

react in ways that will further disadvantage the Indian military.
The western ridge of the valley under Control effectively covers the newly constructed Darbuk-Shyok-Daulat Beg Road. Now that the road is dominated and threatened, there is no other supply route to DB except by Air

Galwan is a tight valley, and Chinese have now sealed the mouth of the Valley. This has put Indians in a very serious dilemma as it is militarily very difficult to remove the strong Chinese presence.

—Kargil intrusions by Pakistani Mujahideens and Army troops to dominate the Srinagar-Zojila & Kargil-Leh highway. This almost threatened to cut off Ladakh from the north.

—The Chinese intrusion into the Galwan River valley allows PLA troops to overlook the strategic

Darbuk-Shyok-Daulat Beg Oldi (DSDBO) highway and cut off the Indian Army’s year’s round connection with its isolated Sub-Sector North at the base of the Karakoram Pass.

Strategic value of Galwan Valley can be well understood in the present situation. With control

over the supply road lost to the Chinese, the significance of the DB Brigade has now been effectively reduced to zero. This is a very positive development a Pak-China collaboration to thwart India design. And this has far reaching consequences in favor of Pakistan and China