Oooooh if this is genuinely their government position, the CCP should call its bluff. But the CCP can only call its bluff if they are truly willing to go to war. Perfect opportunity. Some PLA soldiers will unfortunately have to pay the dearest price. I hope the PLA have their backs and go in with the full network although I think the chances are slim because the CCP wants some PLA bodies to show. It's going to look real bad if they are presented as having gone into India to kill scores of Indian soldiers and not lose any/many PLA. With fatalities the CCP can at least create some space for narrative shaping.
There has been some confusion over whether PLA still controls Helmet and Black Top. Given the language used by Global Times past few days, I'm increasingly inclined to believe this may not be the case. After all, what could possibly have prompted a response that warranted warning shots to be fired on both sides.
Clearly, India is hoping to use these new positions as leverage to force China to return to the April 2020 status quo.
Here's my question. It should've been obvious to the PLA that these were critical locations that needed to be kept. Why were there no PLA troops at these points to begin with? 1. They did not anticipate such an Indian action and have thus been surprised. 2. They anticipated it, but were surprised. 3. They anticipated it, and was hoping it would happen so they have justification to use lethal force. 4. They anticipated it and don't care, since these heights are far less important strategically than the areas the PLA have gained in Galwan and Depsang, and China needed to give India some sort of victory as a face saving gesture.