BackIndia, China to step up dialogue in bid to defuse border tensions
Fresh round of talks at diplomatic and senior military commander levels may happen soon, officials sayThere has been a ‘thinning’ of Chinese presence at the Pangong Lake are, said an official
PremiumNEW DELHI : India and China are looking to de-escalate tensions through increased dialogue and by pulling back tens of thousands of troops from the Line of Actual Control (LAC). However, the process of disengagement in certain areas, such as the Pangong Tso Lake, has been extremely slow.
While another round of talks at the diplomatic and senior military commander levels is expected soon, Indian and Chinese troops have created buffer zones of 3-4km between them at three contentious locations—patrolling points 14, 15 and 17A, said Indian officials. The buffer zone across PP 17A is expected to be settled by Friday.
There was a “thinning" of Chinese presence at the Pangong Tso Lake area, where they had made considerable inroads into areas patrolled by the Indian Army, said an official, requesting anonymity. The Chinese have withdrawn from Finger 4, a post that had been under Indian control, to Finger 5, but are yet to move back to their earlier position, known as Finger 8, he added.
“The initial disengagement has been completed at Galwan, Gogra and Hot Springs areas. Thinning out is currently in progress at the Pangong Tso Lake area. We will wait and see how that proceeds," the person said.
All outstanding issues to stabilize the situation further will be discussed at a meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination (WMCC) on border affairs between India and China, which was expected on Friday, the second person said, also requesting anonymity.
Another meeting between senior army commanders is expected next week to discuss the next phase of disengagement, and the pulling out of troops from the Pangong Lake and Depsang Plains. The military level talks are also expected to discuss steps to further reduce troops and hardware buildup. The presence of tanks, artillery and heavy vehicles along the LAC has been a cause for concern for the two sides.
For further de-escalation, the special representatives of India and China, national security adviser Ajit Doval and Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi, will subsequently hold talks. The 5 July talks between Doval and Wang seemed to have played a role in ensuring the progress on disengaging troops, terms of which were agreed upon by the senior military commanders of India and China on 30 June.
On Thursday, Indian foreign ministry spokesman Anurag Srivastava said Doval and Wang had agreed that “peace and tranquillity in border areas was essential for the overall development of bilateral relations".
“They also shared the view that it was necessary to ensure at the earliest complete disengagement of the troops along the LAC and de-escalation in the India-China border areas for full restoration of peace and tranquillity in accordance with the bilateral agreements and protocols," he added.
“(India) remains convinced of the need for maintenance of peace and tranquillity in the border areas and the resolution of differences through dialogue," Srivastava said. “(But) we are also strongly committed to ensuring India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity."
Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian on Thursday told PTI that troops of both sides had taken “effective measures" to disengage and the situation was “stable and improving". “Following the consensus reached at the commander-level talks, troops have taken effective measures to disengage at the frontline at Galwan Valley and other areas," Zhao said.
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