India is mulling a more intense engagement to break the logjam on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Eastern Ladakh with China while insisting for complete withdrawal of troops. The next round of talks, be it military or diplomatic, will take place after studying the ground situation with New Delhi also seeking restoration of status quo ante on the border.
These issues were in main focus during the nearly three-hour-long China Study Group (CSG) meeting here on Tuesday to review the outcome of the fifth round of talks between the Corps Commanders in Moldo near Ladakh on Sunday last. The talks between Lt General Harinder Singh and Major General Liu Lin lasted more than 10 hours.
While there was no official word on the meeting so far, sources said here on Wednesday, there was little progress made due to China’s reluctance to withdraw its troops from the contentious Pangong Tso(lake). It was a cause of concern as the Chinese have intruded more than five km into India. Besides occupying mountain spurs or ‘Finger,’ they have also built a jetty and brought scores of fast interceptor boats to the Indian side of the lake.
In fact, the series of stand offs on the LAC started from the Pangong when the Chinese intruded and obstructed an Indian army patrol. It led to exchange of fisticuffs between the two sides on May 5.
Attended by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval and Army chief MM Naravane, the CSG took stock of the present scenario on the border after the fifth round of talks.
It was felt that sustained engagement with China at the diplomatic and political level was the way out to defuse tension at the volatile border. The CSG was of the opinion that such intense and regular parleys at all levels will finally ensure visible disengagement by both the sides, sources said.
While China more or less completely pulled back its troops from the Galwan valley, Gogra sand Hot Springs, it was not doing so at the Pangong Tso. The two Corps Commanders discussed this issue in great detail on Sunday with India also maintaining that the Chinese have to restore status quo ante. It means the Chinese troops will have to go back to their positions as they on April 30.
In this backdrop, the Indian Army is not taking any chances and is prepared for a long haul if the Chinese do not withdraw. With winter approaching by September end in the higher reaches of Ladakh, the Government has given the go ahead for purchasing more high-altitude tents, pre-fabricated huts and other such logistical back up to allow the soldiers to be deployed even in temperature dipping to minus 20 degrees, they said.
Also, more than 30,000 Indian troops are now acclimatised to function at heights of more than 15,000 feet where the oxygen is less. In fact, most of these troops are veterans of deployment at the Siachen glacier and other such high-altitude areas. They are already at vantage positions in Ladakh and can be moved forward at a short notice.