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Ladakh row: India, China to hold 10th Corps Commander-level talks on February 20

The two sides will discuss disengagement from other friction points after disengagement from both Northern and Southern banks of Pangong Lake

by · Deccan Herald

Senior military commanders from India and China would meet on Saturday for the 10th round of Corps Commander-level talks at Chushul-Moldo border point at eastern Ladakh to chalk out disengagement strategies from other friction points such as Gogra, Hot Springs and Depsang plains.

The two nations have decided to carry on with the military commander level dialogue after the Indian Army and Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) have withdrawn the troops and machinery completely from southern and northern banks of the 135 km-long Pangong Tso lake, completing the disengagement process that began on February 10. Both sides also carried out verification.

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Sources indicated that during Saturday's talks, India will insist on faster disengagement in remaining areas to bring down the tension in the region, which has witnessed a tense standoff between the two militaries for over nine months.

Though the talks would focus on all the remaining flashpoints, a resolution to the Depsang crisis is unlikely at this point since its a legacy issue.

“Depsang is the area where differing perceptions are maximum. It predates the present situation. Since it is a large area, patrols from both sides face off. This is the prevailing situation. The situation is not volatile there and it has to be resolved at some point,” Lt Gen Y K Joshi, the Northern Army Commander said in an interview earlier this week.

The crisis at Depsang close to the Daulat Beg Oldie airbase has its genesis in a letter that Chinese premier Zhou Enlai wrote to then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru on November 7, 1959, making certain territorial claims. Though India never recognises such a claim, China reiterates it every now and then.

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On the contrary, the face-off at Gogra and Hot Springs— areas where the confrontation between the troops initially occurred— are likely to be resolved quickly as both sides want to send the troops back to the respective posts.

Last week, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh told the Parliament that India and China had reached an agreement to disengage from the north and south banks of Pangong Tso and to "cease" forward deployment of troops in a "phased, coordinated and verifiable" manner.

Under the agreement, China pulled back its troops to the East of Finger 8 areas in the northern bank of Pangong lake while the Indian personnel are now at their permanent base at Dhan Singh Thapa Post near Finger 3. Similar action took place on the south bank of the lake.