Focusing on reducing tension at the Line of Actual Control(LAC) at the earliest, India and China will soon have another round of talks at the military level. It may firm up the mutually acceptable process to pull back troops from the friction points including Hot Springs, Gogra and Depsang plains.
These were the takeaways from the marathon 16-hour long talks between the Corps Commanders of India and China on Saturday at Moldo in Chushul sector of Ladakh. Meeting for the first time since withdrawal of the troops from the Pangong Tso(lake) on Thursday last week, the two senior military official also reviewed the pull-back and appreciated the smooth withdrawal.
A joint statement issued by India and China later on Sunday said “On February 20, the 10th round of China-India Corps Commander Level Meeting was held on the Chinese side of the Moldo/Chushul border meeting point. The two sides positively appraised the smooth completion of disengagement of frontline troops in the Pangong Lake area noting that it was a significant step forward that provided a good basis for resolution of other remaining issues along the LAC in Western Sector.
“They had candid and in-depth exchange of views on other issues along the LAC in the Western Sector. The two sides agreed to follow the important consensus of their state leaders, continue their communication and dialogue, stabilize and control the situation on the ground, push for a mutually acceptable resolution of the remaining issues in a steady and orderly manner, so as to jointly maintain peace and tranquility in the border areas.”
The smooth pull back at the Pangong lake and the two sides lauding it was seen as the first step in the long process to restore normalcy at the LAC in Ladakh after the ten-month long face-offs. Efforts were now on the lend momentum to withdrawal from the other friction points and the two Commanders held extensive discussion on Saturday in this aspect, sources said.
The 16-hour long talks beginning at ten am on Saturday and ending at two am on Sunday primarily focused on hasten up disengagement from the Hot Springs, Gogra and Depsang, they said. India was represented by Lt General P K Menon while Major General Liu Lin headed the Chinese delegation.
On Saturday evening, sources had said bringing down the tension in the region was the broad priority of the talks. India has all along been maintaining that disengagement at all the friction points was necessary to de-escalate the situation in the region.
Officials were hopeful of early agreement to mutually pull back troops from Patrolling Point 15 and 17A in Gogra as normalcy was restored to a large extent in the adjacent Pangong region.
However, a mutually acceptable plan to disengage from the Depsang plains could take longer, sources said. This region in the past also saw stand-offs and intervention at the higher levels were resorted to defuse tension, they added.
Sources said the tension in the Depsang Plains was due to China blocking Indian patrol parties from accessing Patrol Points (PP) 10, 11, 11A, 12 and 13. That was due to the reason that the Indian patrols have to go beyond a feature called Bottle neck area on foot.
Also, the region is strategically important for India as it has the advantage of monitoring all activities at the Karakoram range and highway and nearby regions. Moreover, the Daulat Beg Oldie airfield there has added muscle to India’s military strength as it can shore up its logistics by air in a short time.
Given the smooth withdrawal of troops from Pangong, sources said India was hopeful that pull back could take place soon from the other friction points too.
On February 11, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh announced in Parliament that India and China reached an agreement on disengagement in the North and South banks of Pangong lake that mandates both sides to “cease” forward deployment of troops in a “phased, coordinated and verifiable” manner.
Under the agreement, he said China will pull back its troops to east of Finger 8 areas in the northern bank of Pangong lake while the Indian personnel will be based at their permanent base at Dhan Singh Thapa Post near Finger 3 in the region. Similar action would take place on the south bank of the lake as well, he said.
The sources said troops of both sides have retreated to positions in line with the agreement.
The disengagement process began on February 10.
In his statement in Parliament, the defence minister also said it was agreed to convene the next meeting of senior commanders of both sides within 48 hours of completion of the disengagement in the Pangong lake areas so as to resolve all other remaining issues.
