• We have been listening to the term patrolling point in the news since the India-China stand-off. Let us understand more about them.

Line of Actual Control

• The LAC is the border that separates Indian-controlled territory from Chinese-controlled territory.
• India considers the LAC to be 3,488 km long, while the Chinese consider it to be only around 2,000 km.
• It is divided into three sectors: the eastern sector which spans Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim, the middle sector in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, and the western sector in Ladakh.

What are patrolling points (PPs)?

• They are specific regions and points on/near LAC where patrolling happens at  a stipulated frequency by the security forces.
• These locations are essential to make the presence felt, which acts as an indicator that actual control lies with India.
• By regularly patrolling up to these PPs, the Indian side is able to establish and assert its physical claim about the LAC.
• Most of them lie on LAC, but not all. Some points such as PP10, PP11, PP11A, PP12 and PP13 in Ladakh lie within the territory of India.
• Unlike posts between India and Pakistan, these points are not always manned by the presence of soldiers.

Who decides these PPs?

• These points have been identified strategically by the high-powered China-Study Group since 1975.
• But the frequency of patrolling on these points are decided by Army headquarters, New Delhi.

Patrolling Points in dispute

• The PPs 10 to 13 in Depsang sector, PP14 in Galwan, PP15 in Hot Spring, and PP17 and PP17A in Gogra are currently being disputed by both sides, where the standoffs have taken place in the past nine weeks.

https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/line-of-actual-control-where-it-is-located-and-where-india-and-china-differ-6436436/