India demands restoration of status quo with China
India on Tuesday once again pressed for the restoration of status quo at the border flashpoints in eastern Ladakh and implementation of mutually agreed decisions at yet another meeting between the military commanders of India and China that continued late into the night.
In the last month, this is the third meeting between senior military leaders from the two countries that are locked in a tense stand-off at multiple locations in eastern Ladakh.
The conflict near the disputed Sino-Indian boundary is the worst one in decades as it led to the killing of 20 Indian soldiers and a significant number of Chinese troopers in brutal hand-to-hand combat at the Galwan valley a fortnight ago.
The Corps Commander level meeting at Chushul between Lt Gen Harinder Singh, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Leh-based 14 Corps and Maj Gen Liu Lin, Commander, South Xinjiang Military Region was meant to resolve the ongoing dispute over the Chinese aggression along the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh, Army sources said.
Like the previous round of discussion that continued for 11 hours, this meeting is now well past ten hours till the time of filing this report. India pressed for restoration of the status quo with reference to the third week of April when the Chinese violations were noticed.
However, even as the two sides discussed disengagement and de-escalation, the situation on the ground is exactly opposite with both countries increasing their troop strength and firepower closer to the LAC as well as in the depth areas. The two countries are also flying their combat aircraft and choppers close to the LAC maintaining the 10 km distance.
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Previous talks on June 6 and June 22 didn’t lead to any major breakthrough as disengagement plans mutually agreed upon, were not implemented by the People’s Liberation Army.
For instance, both sides agreed to maintain a minimum distance from each other but were stuck on further progress on what should be the minimum distance. Satellite images show in the Galwan valley, the PLA troops are firmly within India, going beyond the historic Chinese claim line documented in official records.
On the northern banks of 135 km long Pangong lake, the PLA now restricts Indian troops at Finger 4 while traditionally Indian troops used to patrol up to Finger 8. The Chinese also heavily fortified its positions on the shores of the pristine lake, two-third of which is under Chinese control.
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