China study group meets to assess LAC talks of Aug 2

NEW DELHI: The high-powered China Study Group (CSG) met on Tuesday afternoon to assess feedback from the August 2 meeting of Indian and Chinese military commanders in Moldochushul even as ground reports indicate that the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is dragging its feet in restoring status quo in eastern Ladakh.

It is understood that the military commanders’ marathon meeting ended in a stalemate with both sides holding their ground and the People’s Liberation Army commander asking for concessions for complete disengagement.

The CSG will convey to the Indian Army the next steps to be taken on the ground; restoration of the pre-april 20 positions at four frictions points in eastern Ladakh is a prerequisite for normalisation of bilateral ties. The meeting was attended by the senior most ministers and officials of the government.

While the Narendra Modi government remains tightlipped about the August 2 commanders meeting, but a Chinese spokesman’s statement trying to delink the boundary problem from overall bilateral ties is an indicator that the People’s Liberation Army is resisting moves to restore status quo ante.

“The two (India and China) should place the boundary issue in a proper position in bilateral relations and make sure differences do not escalate into disputes,” the Chinese spokesman said.

This is diplomatic jargon for saying that border problems and overall bilateral ties should be kept on different, parallel tracks. It comes at a time when India is trying to block Beijing’s influence in core sectors of India like telecommunication and power as well as higher education and media.

This is contrary to the longheld position of the Modi government that peace and tranquility on the Line of Actual Control was at the heart of bilateral ties. The Indian army, on its part, is prepared for a long haul on the border not only to forestall further aggression by the PLA in the coming months, but also to put pressure on it to restore status quo ante.

Although Indian and Chinese special representatives on boundary talks on July 5 charted out a map for disengagement and then de-escalation, the PLA is dragging its feet both at patrolling point 17 and 17A (General Area Gogra) and on the finger features on the banks of the Pangong Tso.

On both 17 and Pangong Tso, the Chinese want the Indian Army to concede some ground despite being the first aggressor in the Gogra-hot Springs area. “It is trying to impose the 1960 map on East Ladakh and claiming the People’s Liberation Army new positions are well within his perception of the 1,597 km LAC along occupied Aksai Chin,” said a senior official.

While the Indian army and the People’s Liberation Army are no longer face to face on any off the four friction points, the Chinese are trying to position themselves on dominating heights in order to add more depth to their bases in Aksai Chin area.

NEWDELHI: The Army on Tuesday set August 31 as the deadline for short-service commissioned (SSC) women officers to submit their applications for permanent commission. This comes days after the government on July 23 issued a formal sanction for granting the permanent commission following the SC’S February verdict in this regard.

The court ruled that women officers, who have joined the Indian Army through SSC, are entitled to permanent commission. It added that women should be considered for command roles and that all women officers are entitled to permanent commission. The court asked the Army to give them permanent commission within three months. The Centre got a one-month extension on July 7 to implement the verdict after it moved an application seeking the extension of the deadline by another six months citing Covid-19 and the lockdown imposed from March 25. Administrative instructions have been issued to all affected women officers giving out guidelines for submission of applications for consideration by a selection board.