After Pangong pullback, India and China to discuss other friction points today

The meeting will be held at Moldo on the Chinese side of the Line of Actual Control

The tenth round of talks between corp commander-level officers of the Indian and Chinese armies to end the Ladakh standoff will be held on Saturday. The meeting will be held at Moldo on the Chinese side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) at 10am.

The corp commander-level talks come after news that the two armies had disengaged forces from the north and south banks of Pangong Tso lake. In their agreement to end the standoff at Pangong Tso, India and China had committed to convening a corp commanders' meeting within 48 hours of completion of disengagement on the banks of the lake.

The Indian Express reported "disengagement of artillery, tanks and troops from heights [near Pangong Tso] was completed Wednesday, but the two sides had to verify it on the ground and this was done Thursday". Giving details of the pullback from Pangong Tso, an unnamed government official told The Indian Express “Everything that was agreed upon at the ninth round of talks (on January 24) has been achieved. At Pangong Tso, we have achieved status quo ante. On the north bank, China has pulled its troops east of Finger 8 (which India says marks the LAC) and India is holding its position behind Finger 3 at the Dhan Singh Thapa post. All temporary structures, erected by China in the (temporary no-patrolling) stretch between, have been levelled."

The official added the Indian Army had vacated heights at Rechin La and Rezang La on the south bank in adherence to the agreement. The Indian Express reported, "troops from the two sides have vacated the heights near Finger 4 on the Pangong Tso north bank, and Indian troops have also vacated the heights of Magar Hill, Gurung Hill, Mukhpari, Rechin La and Rezang La in the Chushul sub-sector..."

Giving details of the 'friction points' that are likely to be discussed on Saturday, another official told The Indian Express "The key issues, of course, are the disengagement process that remained partial at Hot Springs and Gogra, apart from the long-standing issue of patrolling rights on the Depsang Plains. We are also going to take up the issue of the CNN (Charding-Ninglung Nallah) area, which includes Demchok, where grazing rights of our people have faced opposition from the Chinese in the last three years..."