India, China talks focus on expeditious de-escalation

EXPERTS SAID THAT THE INDIAN ARMY MUST FOLLOW A CAUTIOUS APPROACH DURING THE DISENGAGEMENT PROCESS

NEW DELHI: Indian and Chinese armies stressed the need for an “expeditious, phased and stepwise de-escalation” of the ongoing border conflict “on priority” during a marathon meeting between senior military commanders at Chushul in Ladakh on Tuesday, people familiar with the developments said on Wednesday.

But the disengagement will be “complex” even though the military discussions “reflected the commitment” of both sides to reduce tensions, the people added on condition of anonymity.

The June 30 meeting focused on issues related to “disengagement at the face-off sites” along the contested Line of Actual Control

and “de-escalation from the border areas”, according to one of the people cited above. “More meetings are expected at the military and the diplomatic level to arrive at a mutually-agreeable solution and to ensure peace and tranquility along the LAC as per bilateral agreements and protocols,” a second person said.

This was the third meeting between delegations led by Lieutenant General Harinder Singh, commander of the Leh-based 14 Corps, and Major General Liu Lin, commander of the South Xinjiang military region; and the second after the brutal clash at Galwan Valley on June 15 that left 20 Indian and an unconfirmed number of Chinese soldiers dead.

There was no official statement from the Indian Army on Tuesday’s Chushul talks. But the people indicated that disengagement is expected to kick off with rival troops pulling back a few hundred metres from face-off sites, with further retreat taking place in phases as the plan progresses on a verifiable basis on the ground every 72 hours by both sides. India and China have significantly reinforced their deployments with thousands of soldiers, fighter jets, helicopters, tanks, heavy artillery, missiles and air defence systems.

Experts said that the Indian Army must follow a cautious approach during the disengagement process as the continuing Chinese buildup calls into question the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) intent to restore status quo ante (the status in early April in this case) in strategic areas. “It appears the talks have led to some partial forward movement. But the reliability of the Chinese remains suspect, given their track record in the area. The army will verify if the Chinese are retreating from faceoff points at each stage every 72 hours. Disengagement will have to be followed by de-escalation and de-induction of troops and equipment from the region,” said Lieutenant General BS Jaswal (retd), a former Northern Army commander.

The Indian side on Tuesday reiterated its demand for the pullback of Chinese troops from several friction points and sought the restoration of status quo ante in key areas including Pangong Tso, Galwan Valley and Depsang plains, apart from emphasising the need for thinning the military buildup in the region.

“Both sides have emphasised the need for an expeditious, phased and step-wise de-escalation as a priority. This is in keeping with the agreement between the external affairs minister and his Chinese counterpart during their conversation on June 17 that the overall situation would be handled in a responsible manner, and that both sides would implement the disengagement understanding of June 6 sincerely,” the second person said.