Sanjha Morcha

India and China talk again, Pangong Lake remains point of contention

A file photo of Pangong Lake in Ladakh | Visharad Saxena | Special arrangement

 file photo of Pangong Lake in Ladakh | Visharad Saxena | Special arrangement
New Delhi: India and China Wednesday held yet another round of military talks to resolve the over month-long standoff in Eastern Ladakh, with Pangong Lake becoming the main concern area.

The talks between GOC (General Officer Commanding), 3 Division, and his Chinese counterpart came a day after both sides carried out “small disengagement” steps in multiple locations as part of confidence building measures.

The talks happened on a day the Chinese foreign ministry said that troops have started implementing the “positive consensus” reached by senior military officials of the two countries on 6 June aimed at “easing” the situation along the borders.

“The Div Commander level talks happened as per schedule. They carried forward the talks held by the 14 Corps Commander on Saturday,” a source said, without elaborating.

He said the talks were “longish” as they went on for about four hours.

Sources said multiple rounds of talks, both at military and diplomatic levels, will happen in the coming days.

They accepted that Pangong Lake remains a point of contention.

As reported by ThePrint on earlier, India has demanded that the Chinese maintain the status quo as of early April this year along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

This means the Chinese would have to pull back the troop build-up along the LAC in the Galwan Valley, and retreat from the transgressions in the larger Hot Springs area and the Finger area of the Pangong Lake.

Pangong Lake remains a point of contention

The main point of contention is ‘Finger 4’ area along the Pangong Lake, where the Chinese have come in and built structures to stop Indian patrol teams from going ahead.

Indians claim the LAC begins from Finger 8 of the Pangong Lake, a claim disputed by the Chinese.

ThePrint had earlier reported that that while “no transgressions have taken place in the Galwan Valley”, Chinese troops have come in at least 3 km into Indian territory in the larger Hot Spring Area — Patrol Point 14, 15 and Gogra Post (also known as PP 17) — besides in the Finger areas of Pangong Lake.

Nowhere have the Chinese crossed the Chinese Claim Line (CCL). In the strategic Galwan Valley, the CCL and the LAC are the same according to the understanding between the two sides at the local level, though no formal maps have been exchanged.

However, in the larger Hot Springs area and the Pangong river side, the CCL extends into the Indian territory and this is where the Chinese have come in.


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