With the likelihood of withdrawal of tanks and heavy guns from the Line of Actual Control (LAC), India and China may also dismantle new structures in the Pangong Tso (lake) area.
The two sides had built structures like barracks to lodge additional troops rushed to the LAC as part of military build-up. China had also built a jetty at the lake leading to strong protest by India.
The proposed removing of the structures is part of the proposed three-step plan to disengage and de-escalate from the LAC in eastern Ladakh. If the proposals, including pulling back tanks and additional troops from the border, are agreed upon in the ninth round of talks between the Corps Commanders in the next few days, the disengagement may begin in middle of next month.
Elaborating upon the three-stage proposed plan, which was discussed during the eighth round of Corps Commander talks on November 6, sources said here on Thursday the two sides may also agree to have a buffer zone between “Finger 4” and “Finger 8” area at the Pangong lake. Mountain spurs are referred to as Finger.
This comes against the backdrop of the face off there in early May starting after the Chinese troops blocked an Indian Army patrol between “Finger 4 and 8”. While India reiterated it was within its zone, China claimed it was not so. It led to exchange of blows between the two armies.
The two armies may also pull back partially from south bank of the Pangong lake. The Indian Army had occupied crucial high points after the Chinese tried to forcibly enter that zone in August. The Indian troops occupied strategic heights in the Mukhpari, Rezang La and Magar hill areas around the southern bank of the Pangong lake.
The broad contours of the three-step process include removal of armoured personnel carriers within one day of inking an agreement, withdrawal of troops from specific areas on the north and south banks of the Pangong lake in eastern Ladakh and carrying out verification of the disengagement process by both the sides, they said.
The specific proposals for the disengagement and restoration of the status quo ante as existed in April were finalised during the eighth round of high-level military talks, they said.
As a first step, both sides will remove their tanks, artillery guns, armoured vehicles and large equipment from the friction points along the LAC to their rear bases within three days from inking the agreement.
The second step entails the Chinese army will go back to Finger 8 areas from their current position of Finger 4 on the north bank of Pangong lake while the Indian troops would position themselves close to the Dhan Singh Thapa post, sources said. It was broadly agreed to withdraw around 30 per cent of the troops every day for three days, they said.
In the third step, it was agreed to complete the disengagement process in areas along the southern bank of Pangong lake like Rezang La, Mukhpari and Magar hill.
In the final phase of the disengagement process, both sides will carry out a detailed verification process following which normal patrolling is expected to resume.
More than one lakh troops from both the sides are now deployed on the 1,700 km long LAC in Eastern Ladakh. In fact, both the armies are also digging in for a long winter deployment as the multiple round of talks at the military and diplomatic levels have failed so far.
Also, China cannot be trusted as it happened in June when after agreeing to pull back from the stand-off sites they did not honour the commitment. It led to a bloody brawl in the Galwan valley on June 15 leaving 20 Indian Army personnel including the commanding officer dead.
After the last round of military talks, both sides described the negotiations as candid, in-depth and constructive. They said it was agreed to earnestly implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries and ensure that the frontline troops exercise restraint and avoid misunderstanding and miscalculation.
At the seventh round of talks too, both sides had agreed to maintain dialogue and communication through military and diplomatic channels to arrive at a mutually acceptable solution for disengagement “as early as possible”.
Following the sixth round of military talks, the two sides announced a slew of decisions including not to send more troops to the frontline, refrain from unilaterally changing the situation on the ground and avoid taking any actions that may further complicate matters.