India awaits clarifications from China before 9th military talks
NEW DELHI: As India and China prepare for the ninth round of a military dialogue to restore status quo ante in the eastern Ladakh sector, New Delhi is waiting for “certain clarifications” on the disengagement and de-escalation road map from Beijing, people familiar with the matter said.
According to military and diplomatic officials based in Delhi and Beijing, the window of opportunity for disengagement and de-escalation from friction points along the 1597-km-long LAC in Ladakh will close in December when very heavy snows, polar temperatures and high-velocity winds sweeping the Tibetan plateau and Ladakh heights make any significant movement of troops, artillery and armour near impossible.
As of now, both sides have deployed more than three divisions of troops, comprising around 40,000 personnel, with missile, artillery and armour support.“There is a road map on the table, but India has asked for specific clarifications from China on the stepwise disengagement by both the Indian Army and People’s Liberation Army. The clarifications could be a deal-breaker, but the answers are awaited from Beijing. Step-by-step disengagement and de-escalation moves will be detailed in a written agreement if the clarifications are to the satisfaction of both the countries,” said an official with knowledge of the matter who requested anonymity.The BRO is already fighting an uphill battle to keep the Zoji La axis open until December 31 since the weather in eastern Ladakh has taken a turn for the worse with multiple snowfalls and the temperature already way below the -20 degree-mark. The terrain on the Indian side of the LAC is mountainous and glaciated while it is a flat plateau on the Tibet side of China. Since the PLA’s aggression on the north bank of the Pangong Tso in May, followed by transgressions in Galwan, and Gogra-Hot Springs, the armies of two countries have been locked in a stand-off at multiple points in eastern Ladakh for more than six months. The Indian counter to PLA’s aggression was to occupy the heights south of Pangong Tso, the saltwater glacial lake spread across 700 sq km — half the size of Delhi — and dominating the Chushul-Moldo area with Kailash Range ridgeline under its control. The PLA wants India to first disengage from south of Pangong Tso, but New Delhi has made it clear that the Chinese military will first have to vacate the forward areas before the Indian Army retreats from the commanding heights south of the lake. Given that the PLA has built roads right up to its outposts on LAC, New Delhi believes that the disengagement of the two armies should be such that the time taken to return to the withdrawal point is the same for both sides. India has taken a cautious approach to disengagement and de-escalation, a senior official said, pointing out that New Delhi will have to set aside its deep distrust of the PLA that has grown over the last six-seven months. India has, on several occasions, underlined that China had violated 30 years of written agreements for maintaining peace and tranquillity along the LAC by escalating the standoff and later reiterating its 1959 claim on Ladakh, which had been rejected by India the first time it was proposed by Mao Zedong’s regime, to justify its actions.