New Delhi: Military officials from India and China on Monday, August 21, held talks to resolve the border standoff in Eastern Ladakh, especially at the sensitive Depsang plains. It was the third such meeting in a matter of four days.
The intense round of discussions between Major General-level officials from both sides in a matter of a few days assumes significance given the expectation that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would meet Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the three-day BRICS summit, which began in Johannesburg on Tuesday, August 22.
Military officials from both sides have been entrusted with the responsibility to find a workable solution that could be implemented along the undemarcated Line of Actual Control (LAC), Tribune reported.
Since April 2020, both sides have been caught in a border standoff in Eastern Ladakh. There are particular differences over pulling troops back from the Depsang plains and Charding Nullah near Demchok. The dispute is concerning a 972 sq km plateau Depsang. Both have issues regarding troop positions, especially at the “bottleneck” on the eastern edge of Depsang. India has been opposed to the Chinese Army deliberating preventing the movement of Indian patrols on the patrolling route that goes east of the “bottleneck” in Depsang.
Before April 2020, when the standoff began, Indian patrols had been using the patrolling route. However, since then, China has been referring to a controversial 30-year-old border agreement to prevent the movement of Indian patrols. According to the said agreement, patrolling parties of one side should return upon encountering the patrol party of the other country.
One of the crucial things that came up during the discussion was that the Indian troops would coordinate with the Chinese when patrols go east of the “bottleneck”. This means the creation of a new buffer zone, and patrols cannot be held independently,
Both sides have competing claims in the region, particularly in relation to the Depsang plains. Some of these contested points have great strategic value, for they overlook the Aksai Chin plateau which is under the illegal control of China.
Citing sources, Financial Times reported that Major General Prasanna Mishra represented the Indian delegation for “engaging in productive deliberations with his Chinese counterpart”. Major General Mishra commands the Indian Army’s 3 Division, which is tasked with securing and managing the 832-kilometer-long LAC specifically within the Ladakh region.
India has been proposing to China that a phased three-step process is necessary to resolve the standoff. The first of these includes the disengagement of troops within close proximity in grey zones along the LAC and moving back to positions as on April 2020.
In the next two steps, India suggests that there should be de-escalation and de-induction, which includes pulling troops and equipment back to the scenario before April 2020. Until that happens, India says the situation cannot be viewed as normal.