As the Line of Actual Control (LAC) remains tense, the coming days will see a flurry of activities beginning with the Corps Commanders of India and China Armies holding sixth round of talks to resolve differences. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar are also likely to travel to Moscow to take part in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) conclave. Both the leaders may meet their Chinese counterparts there.
These high-level dialogues will take place against the backdrop of China not withdrawing its troops from the “friction points” and further ramping up its infrastructure like 5G network all along the LAC. Reports indicated fresh Chinese construction in terms of temporary huts and bunkers have taken place in the Pangong Tso (lake) zone. It is one of the four “friction points” where the stand-offs are on and the Chinese have intruded more than five km into India.
On the 5G network, sources said the Chinese engineers were seen laying fibre optic cables and installing related equipment along the LAC in the Demchok region.
This will enhance communication capabilities of the Chinese Army thereby posing fresh challenge to India. The installations included modern equipment for the latest spectrum bandwidths to greatly improve cellular transmission in the strategically important area.
Similarly, the Chinese were putting up more huts and temporary bunkers in the Pangong Tso region, they said. The first face-off took place here in early May when the Chinese intruded and obstructed an Indian army patrol. It led to fisticuffs between the soldiers of the two Armies leaving several injured.
China has so far refused to withdraw its troops from this region and have occupied the heights around the lake. They have also tried to stop the Indian army patrols between Finger 4 and Finger 8 areas besides engaging in fresh construction activities, sources said.
This issue is likely to figure prominently during the sixth round of talks between the Corps Commanders of the two Armies early next week, they said. The two commanders Lt General Harinder Singh and Major General Liu Lin have met five times since the face-offs started and agreed to mutually disengage from the confrontation sites. They also agreed to thin out the additional troops brought closer to the face-off positions in the last few weeks. The two commanders had last met on August 2.
However, China has not pulled back its troops from the Pangong Tso and the Depsang Valley forcing India to also boost its troop strength along with deployment of heavy guns and armour.
In this backdrop, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is likely to visit Moscow in first week of September for the SCO meeting. Defence Ministers of nearly 20 countries, including China and Pakistan, are also likely to be there. However, a one on one meeting between Rajnath and his Chinese counterpart is not yet decided, sources said.
Similarly, Jaishankar will be in Moscow a few days later and may hold talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on the LAC issue, sources said. The two leaders will also take part in a virtual meeting in early September as part of the Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa(BRICS)foreign ministers conclave, it was learnt.
Notwithstanding the continuing stand-offs at the LAC and frosty ties with Pakistan, the Indian Armed forces will take part in a multi-nation military exercise including China and Pakistan in Russia for a fortnight starting September 15. These drills are under the aegis of the SCO and India had taken part in such an exercise last year too along with China and Pakistan. More than 20 nations will take part in this year’s prestigious event. A 200-strong contingent of India will be there, officials said.
