Ladakh clash: Indian, Chinese armies tackle 'trickiest part of' troop withdrawal exercise

In yet another marathon meeting, senior commanders from Indian Army and Chinese People’s Liberation Army on Tuesday tackled the trickiest part of the troop withdrawal exercise in eastern Ladakh as they they discussed the deescalation plan for the contentious Pangong Tso area, which often witnesses confrontation between the troops.

Vacating the Finger Complex on the northern banks of the Pangong lake featured prominently during the talks. While the PLA army moved back to Finger 5 instead of Finger 4, which they had occupied since the last three months, the Indian Army was nowhere close to its original position of being able to patrol up to Finger 8.

In addition reduction of the PLA troops from Depsang bulge – north of the Galwan valley – was also discussed with India insisting on the restoration of the status quo and return of the PLA troops to their side of the Line of Actual Control – the disputed boundary between India and China – rather than blocking the traditional patrolling routes of the Indian Army.

At the Chushul border personnel meeting point, the meeting 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 began at 1130 am and stretched late into the night. Any official word on the outcome of the meeting is expected only on Wednesday.

The Indian side insisted on "total restoration" of status quo ante in all areas of eastern Ladakh prior to May 5 when the standoff began following a clash between the troops of the two countries in Pangong Tso, they said.

The sources said the two sides might also finalise a road map for overall restoration of peace and tranquility in the high-altitude region that witnessed a nine-week long standoff between the troops of the two countries.

The fourth round of discussions between senior military commanders take place days after the implementation of the first phase of the disengagement process from the friction points. Both sides had withdrawn their troops at Galwan, Hot Spring and Gogra creating a temporary buffer zone that is not being patrolled by either of the two armies for the time being.

Last Friday, India and China held another round of diplomatic talks during which both sides resolved to push ahead with "complete disengagement" of troops in eastern Ladakh in a timely manner for "full restoration" of peace and tranquility.