China ‘not retreating from LAC boundary’

THE disengagement between India and China hit a roadblock in eastern Ladakh as Chinese troops have not moved back from the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in line with the consensus arrived at during the military-level talks between both countries.

Seeing this, the Indian Army is preparing for a long haul and harsh winter in the highaltitude region.

A massive logistical exercise has started to provide adequate rations and other supplies to its soldiers as the friction areas still remain volatile.

China is reportedly not complying with the roadmap for a complete pullback, which was drawn out during the Corps Commander-level meet on July 14. The Chinese People’s Liberation Army troops have not moved back.

The Indian security establishments said the Chinese retreated a bit and then returned and therefore, there is a need for “constant verification” of the consensus achieved during the meetings between the Indian and Chinese military delegates.

The Indian and Chinese troops have pulled back at Pangong Lake by 2km and Finger 4 is empty. However, the Chinese are still camping on the ridgeline. This clearly indicates that the Chinese had camped at Finger 4 that had traditionally been under Indian control.

The Chinese had come 8km into Indian territory, all the way till Finger 4 from Finger 8. India maintains that the LAC runs through Finger 8. Mountain spurs jutting into the lake are referred to as fingers.

In Galwan Valley, which is called Patrolling Point 14, the distance between Indian and Chinese troops is 3km. At Patrolling Point 15, the distance between troops is around 8km.

But in Hot Springs, that is Patrolling Point 17, 40-50 troops on both sides are just 600-800m apart. The Chinese Army had retreated as per the consensus but again returned.

In the wake of the Chinese approach, defence minister Rajnath Singh urged the force to stand ready to handle any eventuality on the border with China.

Singh sa id t his during his address at t he inaugural session of the three-day Air Force Commanders’ Conference in New Del h i t hat sta r ted on Wednesday.

During his visit to Ladakh on July 17, Singh had said that talks between India and China on border dispute are underway but added that the extent of the success, however, “cannot be guaranteed”.

“Ta l k s a re u nder way to resolve the border dispute but to what e x tent it c a n be resolved I cannot guarantee. I can assure you, not an inch of our land can be ta ken by any power in t he world. If a solut ion c a n be fou nd by ta lks, there is nothing better,” he said.

Currently, India and China are engaged in militar y and d iplomat ic del iberat ion to de-esca late t he tense sit uation at t he border areas. The c ou nt r ie s a re locked i n a standoff t hat is over 10-week old, at multiple points, hit herto unprecedented along the border.

On Ju ly 14, in a marat hon meeting that lasted for almost 15 hours, t he milita r y delegates of India and China held deliberat ions on disengagement a nd de-esca lat ion of troops and materia ls on their borders i n ea ster n L ada k h a long the Line of Actual Cont rol (L AC).

During the talks, the Indian side asked PLA troops to completely withdraw from Pangong Lake and Depsang area.

Before t he parleys started, India’s main aim was to get t he Chinese People’s Liberation Army to remove its tanks, artiller y and additional forces at Pangong Lake and Depsang areas.

The disengagement process between the two armies in the Galwan valley began on July 6 after a two-month military standoff.