India asked China to ensure complete troop disengagement from the ‘friction points’ at Pangong Tso, Chushul and Gogra-Hotsprings as well as finalisation of the road map for de-escalation along the entire frontier in eastern Ladakh. The Indian Army, having gained bargaining leverage after occupying multiple tactical heights on the south bank of Pangong Tso-Chushul area on August 29-30, reiterated the demand for restoration of status quo ante during the sixth round of military talks.
But there was no official word on the outcome of the meeting between the delegations headed by 14 Corps commander Lt-General Harinder Singh and South Xinjiang Military District chief Major General Liu Lin on the Chinese side of the Moldo-Chushul border personnel meeting point.
Sources said the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) was told that it “should make the first move” since it had created the rival troop face-offs and military build-ups by intruding into Indian territory at multiple locations in early May. “Indian troops will reciprocate. Otherwise, it was emphasised India is prepared for the long haul,” a source said.
India has seen “some disconnect” between the five-point diplomatic consensus reached during the September 10 talks between foreign minister S Jaishankar and his counterpart Wang Yi and the “actual ground reality” along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
The Indian military delegation had diplomatic representation for the first time, with MEA joint secretary (East Asia) Naveen Srivastava taking part in the negotiations. The Indian side also included Lt-General P G K Menon, who is slated to replace Lt-Gen Singh as 14 Corps commander next month.
The high-powered China Study Group had discussed the different contingencies as well as preparations for a prolonged crisis. The Indian armed forces have already gone in for a massive ‘advance winter stocking’ operation all along the frontier in eastern Ladakh.
The military talks between the rival corps commanders, who last met on August 2, comes after the Indian Army’s preemptive military manoeuvre to seize the previously-unoccupied tactical heights on the ridgeline stretching from Thakung on the south bank of Pangong Tso to Gurung Hill, Spanggur Gap, Magar Hill, Mukhpari, Rezang La and Reqin La (Rechin mountain pass) on August 29-30.
Simultaneously, Indian soldiers also occupied heights overlooking the PLA deployments on the ridgeline over ‘Finger-4’ on the north bank of Pangong Tso.
