There was no concrete breakthrough in the marathon military talks between India and China in de-escalating the remaining ‘friction points’ at Gogra, Hot Springs, Demchok and Depsang Plains in eastern Ladakh, but the two reiterated their commitment to work for a mutually-acceptable resolution through further dialogue.
“The two sides will push for a mutually acceptable resolution of the remaining issues in a steady and orderly manner, so as to jointly maintain peace and tranquillity in the border areas,” said a joint statement issued after the 10th round of corps commander-level talks. It said the two sides “agreed to follow the important consensus of their state leaders, continue their communication and dialogue, and stabilise and control the situation on the ground”.
Sources said the two sides agreed to take forward the stalled disengagement process at Patrolling Points (PPs) 15 and 17A in Hot Springs-Gogra but the question of rival troop deployments near the area proved a roadblock. “No specific agreement could be achieved… some more talks are required,” a source said. The “older” issues of friction at the Charding Ninglung Nallah (CNN) track junction in Demchok sector and the strategically-located Depsang Plains were even more intractable, sources said. India, during the meeting, strongly objected to the blocking of its military patrols from going to their traditionalPPs10,11,11A,12,and 13 in the Depsang area, which are well short of India’s perception of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the region.
“The Depsang problem, which has been a continuous source of friction since 2013, was not directly part of the multiple faceoffs that erupted in eastern Ladakh last May. But it is also on the discussion table now, especially since it could lead to major escalation in the future,” a source said.
The PLA can now intercept Indian patrols much more swiftly in the ‘Bottleneck’ area, which is 18 km inside what India perceives to be its territory, after it constructed motorised roads in the area after 2013. “One way out could be for both sides to accept the patrolling rights of each other in Depsang till the LAC can be clarified in the future,” he added.
The two delegations, led by 14 Corps commander Lt-General P G K Menon and South Xinjiang Military District chief Major General Liu Lin, have taken the proposals exchanged during the “candid and in-depth” meeting to their respective political hierarchies for further consultations.
The joint statement said the two sides “positively appraised the smooth completion of disengagement” from both sides of the Pangong Tso, noting that it was “a significant step forward that provided a good basis for resolution of other remaining issues along the LAC in the western sector”.
4 soldiers killed in Galwan clash: China
Eight months after the savage Galwan Valley clash, China finally admitted that People’s Liberation Army soldiers had been killed in the hand-to-hand fighting that had resulted in death of 20 Indian soldiers. The Chinese apex Central Military Commission (CMC) awarded posthumous honorary title and first class merit citation to four PLA soldiers, acknowledging casualties that various reports have put as much higher. Estimates, based on observation of movements on the Chinese side, have put the toll as high as 45. A colonel, who led the troops and was seriously injured, was also conferred with honorary title, according to the CMC, which is headed by President Xi Jinping.
Disengagement in Pangong over
India and China have completed troop disengagement on both sides of Pangong Tso in eastern Ladakh. The two armies verified through physical and electronic surveillance that the four-step disengagement process in the Pangong Tso-Kailash range area, which kicked off on February 10 after over nine months of eyeball-to-eyeball confrontation, was completed to “mutual satisfaction.
India, however, is keeping an “adequate” number of troops “suitably poised” to react to any contingency, while having also deployed requisite ISR (intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance) platforms to closely monitor the activities of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA).
In military talks, the friction at patrolling points (PPs) 15 and 17A near Hot Springs and Gogra will be relatively easier to resolve since most rival troops there had earlier disengaged, leaving only a small number in close proximity to each other. Similar is expected to be the case with the trouble-spot at the Charding Ninglung Nallah (CNN) track junction in the Demchok sector.
But the Depsang Plains or ‘Bulge’ area, the tabletop plateau at 16,000 feet that provides India access to the Daulat Beg Oldie (DBO) airstrip and the critical Karakoram Pass in the north, will be a much harder nut to crack.
