NEW DELHI: More than a month after a stand off began between Indian and Chinese troops along the Ladakh border, a partial disengagement has begun with soldiers being thinned down at incursion points and opposing forces being distanced as a series of military-level talks are scheduled over the next two weeks.
The disengagement—an unspecified number of troops have been thinned down by both sides at the Chinese incursion points of Galwan and Gogra—comes after Lt Gen-level talks undertaken last Saturday, which both sides described as positive.
However, a lot remains to be done to achieve status quo ante, given the hard line drawn by India on two points— that its construction activity to make a bridge over the Galwan river should not be hindered and that the occupation of Finger 4 by Chinese troops needs to be reversed to give troops access to patrol the disputed area along Pangong Tso lake.
India has little room to make any concessions in upcoming talks as China has been the aggressor that upped the ante by moving in troops into eastern Ladakh and started the illegal construction of border defences inside Indian territory.
As part of the disengagement, the distance between troops who had been in an intense face off since May 5 has been widened, to decrease the possibility of the situation getting escalated, particularly at the Galwan river area.
Sources said that a series of meetings are planned over the next two weeks, starting with a Major General-level engagement on Wednesday where each point of contention will be discussed individually.In particular, talks will focus on Chinese incursions at the Galwan river area’s Patrol Point 14, 16, 17 , the north bank of Pangong Tso lake and troop build up at Chushul. Sources said that partial disengagement has taken place at the three patrol points but the Finger Area still remains a cause for concern as PLA troops have constructed permanent defences both at the base and top of Finger 4 that restrict India’s ability to patrol to its perception of the LAC.
No comments:
Post a Comment