Disengagement to be a ‘Test match, not a Twenty20’

NEW DELHI: Senior army officers have said disengagement of forward deployed Indian and Chinese forces from friction areas along the contested LAC would be a “cumbersome” process” and play out like a “test match”, responding to reports of a slight retreat by both armies.

NEW DELHI: Senior army officers on Thursday said disengagement of forward deployed Indian and Chinese forces from friction areas along the contested Line of Actual Control (LAC) would be a “cumbersome and long-drawn process”, responding to some news reports of a slight retreat by both armies in Galwan Valley.

Disengagement of forces has not begun, said one of the officers with direct knowledge of the border row. “You can say it’s going to play out like a Test match and not T20 cricket. It will be a cumbersome, complicated and long-drawn exercise,” he said, asking not to be identified.

Senior Indian and Chinese military commanders reached a consensus -- during an 11-hour meeting on June 22 -- on disengaging from friction points along the LAC, which has been tense since a brutal brawl in Galwan Valley on June 15 led to 20 Indian and an unspecified number of Chinese soldiers dead.

“Consensus doesn’t mean the ground situation will change overnight. It may take weeks, or even months, for the border to become stable,” said the second officer cited above, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

There was no official word from the army on the disengagement process even as army chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane flew back from Leh to New Delhi on Thursday after conducting a security review of the Ladakh sector over two days. Top officials briefed him on the latest developments along the LAC.

Both officers quoted above said the Indian Army had raised its guard, and was planning and preparing for the long haul.

Experts agreed with their assessment of the border row, marked by a significant military buildup on both sides of the LAC at multiple locations.

“The Indian Army will have to keep its guard up at every stage of the proposed disengagement. We will have to move ahead with caution, given what happened in Galwan Valley during a previous disengagement exercise,” said former Northern Army commander Lieutenant General DS Hooda (retd).

China has not halted — and instead ramped up — its military activity along LAC in eastern Galwan Valley, HT reported on Thursday.

The Chinese buildup in other areas along the LAC, including Depsang, Gogra Post-Hot Springs and Pangong Tso, has not thinned either, people familiar with developments said. The army is keeping a strict vigil along the LAC and is fully prepared to respond to any provocation or adventurism by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA), they added.

SENIOR INDIAN AND CHINESE MILITARY COMMANDERS REACHED A CONSENSUS ON JUNE 22 ON DISENGAGING FROM FRICTION POINTS ALONG THE LAC