Leh-based 14 Corps chief Lt General Harinder Singh will hold parleys with his Chinese counterpart on June 6 to pave the way for the likely backing off of troops from four flashpoints on the Line of Actual Control(LAC) in Eastern Ladakh. The two Lieutenant General-rank officers will meet at a designated meeting point on the LAC.
Ahead of the meeting, Northern Command chief, Lt General Y K Joshi, visited Leh on Wednesday and reviewed the situation with Lt General Singh, sources said here on Wednesday.
Incidentally, Army Chief General M MNaravane had visited Leh about a fortnight back to take stock of the situation in the backdrop of four stand-offs now between the Indian and Chines armies in a frontage of 25 to 30 km in Ladakh. The Chinese have intruded three kms into the Hot Springs area of the Galwan valley and pitched tents besides building bunkers and enhancing force levels.
Admitting that the Chinese had raised its troop strength in sizable numbers, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, in an interview to a private television channel on Tuesday, had said diplomatic and military level talks were on to defuse tension on the LAC.
He also said the Army chief had told him that the next round of senior level talks will be held on June 6 and he was hopeful of a peaceful resolution following the upcoming parleys.
The groundwork for the June 6 meeting was laid at the third meeting at the level of Major Generals held on Tuesday, sources said. Almost daily discussions are on between the military on the ground at various levels including at the Brigadier-level and twice by Major Generals earlier but no breakthrough was achieved.
As of now, there is no let up on the four confrontation sites with soldiers from both sides on high alert. As China increased its troops and vehicle strength, India too responded in the same manner by ramping up its troops. Moreover, all the advanced landing grounds in Ladakh are now ready to share increased load of take offs and landing of transport aircraft ferrying more troops and logistical back up.
India is also holding strict vigil on the 250 km-long road in Eastern Ladakh near the Galwan valley as the Chinese are objecting to the construction of a bridge. The strategic road runs parallel to the LAC and India says it does not breach the LAC as claimed by the other side. The Galwan valley saw pitched battles between India and China during the 1962 war.
As infrastructure all along the LAC has vastly improved in both the countries, troops increase patrolling especially during the summer months. The Indian security establishment is now wary of the growing Chinese aggressiveness during the ongoing face-offs and is prepared for any challenge, sources said.
In order to address such face-offs, India and China had agreed some years back to have a hotline between the director generals of military operations(DGMO) on the lines of an existing mechanism between India and Pakistan.
However, the proposed hotline is held up due to procedural differences. In January this year, the Army Chief had said all issues have been resolved and the procedural aspects have been ironed out. He said the hotline would be between the DGMO from India and China’s Western Theatre Command.