Even before the planned Siachen trekking kicks off, the Indian Army will take out its own expedition to the glacial heights of Khatling on the Indo-Tibetan border in Uttarakhand later this month.
"The Siachen trekking expedition this year is in its planning stage and we are determined to take civilian mountaineers to the Glacier this year. Khatling expedition by the Army's 15 Mechanised Infantry Regiment will take place from June 25 to July 7," an Army headquarter source told PTI.
Both the expeditions are meant to show to the international audience that Indian troops hold both the Siachen and Khatling glacial heights and neither Pakistan nor China were anywhere near the two Glaciers.
Amidst reports of frequent intrusions by China's Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) into the Indian territory along the Indo-Tibetan border, the Khatling expedition would leave imprints of the Army team's visit to the Glacier.