India-China 10th Military Round Speaks Tomorrow for Greater Disengagement
Indian and Chinese military delegates will meet on Saturday for the 10th round of talks to discuss disengagement at other places of friction on the Royal Line of Control, the sources said. During the 10th round, Corps Commanders will discuss other friction areas such as Hot Springs, Gogra, and 900 square km of Depsang Plains. The talks will begin at 10 am in Moldo, on the Chinese side.
The build-up in Depsang was not considered part of the current standoff that started in May last year when there were escalations here in 2013, India has insisted during recent meetings of military commanders to resolve all issues across the Royal Line of Control.
“The initial attempt will be to resolve Gogra and Hot Springs. Finding a solution to Depsang could be complicated and take more time,” an official said.
Representatives during the 10th round of “corps commander level” meeting will also check the status of the disconnect on the north and south shores of Pangong Lake.
The disconnection process on both shores of Pangong Lake is expected to be completed until February 20. It was on February 10 that China announced that New Delhi and Beijing had agreed to disconnect at Lake Pangong.
The Indian Army team together with the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) are physically verifying and re-verifying the disconnection at Pangong Lake. “It is a joint inspection team, both from the Indian army and the Chinese PLA,” said a senior government official.
The agreement states that Chinese troops will return to Finger 8 and Indian troops will retreat to the Dhan Singh Thapa post between Finger 2 and 3 on the north shore of Pangong Lake. In addition, there would be a temporary moratorium on military activities, including patrolling traditional areas.
The mountain spur that juts out into the lake is known as the Finger in military parlance. The north shore of the lake is divided into 8 fingers. India has claimed its territory up to Finger 8 and China disputes it up to Finger 4.
India and China are involved in a ten-month showdown on the Royal Line of Control. The fighting began on the north shore of Lake Pangong, both in the waters and on the shore as Chinese incursions increased in early May last year.
The confrontation later spread to the southern bank, after which the Indian army occupied crucial heights that angered the Chinese and led to shooting incidents into the air.
On June 15 last year, India lost 20 soldiers during the fighting in the Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh. China at the time never disclosed about the casualties.
For the first time, China on Friday accepted that they had lost soldiers and honored its four People’s Liberation Army soldiers killed and one wounded during clashes with Indian army troops in Galwan.
The China Global Television Network (CGTN), the Chinese state media, claimed that five PLA soldiers were honored with the honorary title and a first-class mention of merit.
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