New Delhi: After completing the withdrawal of troops and weapons from the north and south sides of Pangong Lake, a new round of high-level military talks on Saturday to advance the disintegration process in India and China. Will hold Official sources said the springs, Gogra and Depang in eastern Ladakh closed on Friday.
The tenth round of core commander-level talks are scheduled to begin at 10 am at the Moldo border point on the Chinese side of the Line of Actual Control, and the first engagement will take place between the two countries after the conclusion at a senior level disintegration process in the Pangong Lake areas, They said.
Sources said the demolition of troops, weapons and other military hardware as well as bunkers, tents and temporary structures in the north and south sides of Pangong Lake was completed on Thursday and both sides verified the same.
“Both sides will conduct a comprehensive review of the displacement process in the Pangong Lake areas,” a source said.
Also on Friday, China officially acknowledged for the first time that four of its soldiers had been killed in a fierce conflict with the Indian Army in the Galvan Valley of eastern Ladakh in June last year. India lost 20 soldiers in a fierce war.
Sources indicated that during Saturday’s talks, India would insist on a rapid disintegration process in the remaining areas to ease tensions in the region, which has seen a tense standoff between the two militants for nine months.
On 11 February, Defense Minister Rajnath Singh spoke in Parliament about an agreement between India and China on the displacement on the north and south banks of Pangong Lake in which the two sides were forced to deploy troops in a ‘phased, coordinated and verified’ manner. Was obliged to ‘stop’. .
Under the agreement, he said China would withdraw its troops to the east of the Finger 8 areas in the north bank of Pangong Lake, while the Indian troops would be based on their permanent base at Dhan Singh Thapa Post near Finger 3 in the area. He said that similar action will be taken on the southern bank of the lake.
Sources said that troops from both sides have withdrawn positions which were agreed by both sides.
The dissolution process began on 10 February.
Saturday’s talks will be led by Lt. Gen. PGK Menon, commander of the 14 Corps based in Leh, while the Chinese side is expected to be led by Major General Liu Lin, commander of the People’s People’s South Xinjiang Military District, Liberation Army (PLA).
In his statement in Parliament, the Defense Minister also said that it was agreed to convene the next meeting of senior commanders of both sides within 48 hours of the dissolution in Pangong Lake areas so that all other remaining issues could be resolved.
A few days later, the Ministry of Defense said that other outstanding ‘problems’, including Dipsung, Hot Springs and Gogra, would be taken up in the forthcoming talks between the military commanders of the two countries.
The border standoff between Indian and Chinese militants escalated on 5 May following violent skirmishes in the Pangong Lake areas and the two sides gradually increased their deployment to thousands of soldiers as well as heavy weapons and even both sides Military and continued diplomatic talks
Last year, the Chinese Army built several bunkers and other structures in the areas between Finger 4 and 8 and blocked all Indian patrols beyond Finger 4, triggering a strong response from the Indian Army.
In nine rounds of military talks, India particularly emphasized the withdrawal of Chinese troops from Finger 4 to Finger 8 on the northern bank of Pangong Lake. The mountain spurs in the area are known as Fingers.
On its part, the Chinese side was insisting on the withdrawal of Indian troops from several strategic peaks on the southern shore of the lake.
About five months ago, the Indian troops captured several strategic heights in the vicinity of the South Bank, Mukhpari, Rechin La and Magar mountain areas after Chinese PLA attempted to intimidate them into the area.
Tensions escalated after a deadly clash in the Galawan Valley last June as both sides reached a large number of battle tanks, armored vehicles and treacherous and high-altitude areas of the eastern Ladakh region.
On Tuesday, the Indian Army released short videos and photos showing soldiers in areas around Pangong Lake to thin and eliminate bunkers, camps and other facilities by the Chinese military.
Visuals also showed the Chinese army to level some of the structures using bulldozers, and prepare vehicles to retreat to rear targets as part of the infantry dismantling of vehicles with equipment and equipment.