Thinning of Indian and Chinese troops from disputed LAC begins

The disengagement by Indian and Chinese frontline troops from the flashpoints at Pangong Lake in eastern Ladakh began on Wednesday with officials claiming that the process is taking place in a stepbystep mannerSoldiers of both the countries were battling minus 30degree Celsius temperature in some parts of the disputed IndiaChina border The two countries had deployed thousands of troopers along the disputed Line of Actual Control LAC in eastern LadakhThe disengagement plan on the northern and southern banks of Pangong Lake in eastern Ladakh is based on a consensus reached during the ninth round of Corps Commander level meeting held between the two sides on January 24After the ninth round of military talks followup meetings between the ground level commanders happened leading to the initiation of the disengagement process with thinning of troops from WednesdaySources said that after the thinning of troops tanks and weapons removal from the southern part of the lake will happenChina issued a statement saying that frontline troops at the southern and northern banks of Pangong Lake have started synchronised disengagement India has not issued any statement in this regard so farThe proposals for disengagement include China moving back to Finger 8 and Indian troops pulling back to the Dhan Singh Thapa post between Finger 2 and 3 This will make Finger 4 a no go zone for some time for both the sidesThe north bank of the lake is divided into 8 Fingers The mountain spur jutting into the lake are referred to as Finger in military parlanceIndia claims Line of Actual Control at Finger 8 and had been holding on to the area till Finger 4 but in a clear alteration of status quo the Chinese have been camping at Finger 4 setting up fortifications between Finger 5 and 8There have been regular faceoffs between the two armies between Finger 4 and Finger 8 a distance of 8 km on the northern bank of the lake Turning the Finger area into a no patrolling zone is part of the threestep disengagement roadmap that is under considerationThe first step of disengagement is thinning of troops and withdrawal of tanks from the forward locations along the LAC in eastern LadakhIn the second step Indian troops will come back to the Dhan Singh Thapa post located on Finger 3 one of the spurs along the Pangong Lake and the Chinese troops to Finger 8In the third step the Indian Army will withdraw from all the 13 critical heights and territories including Rezang La along the southern bank of Pangong Lake which gave India an edge over ChinaOn August 30 last year India had occupied critical mountain heights on the southern bank of the Pangong Lake like Rechin La Rezang La Mukpari and Tabletop that were unmanned till now India has also made some deployments near Blacktop The movement was carried out after the Chinese tried to make a provocative military moveThe dominance at peaks allows India to dominate the Spanggur Gap under Chinese control and also the Moldo garrison on the Chinese sideIf things work out India would leave the heights occupied on the south of the lake in Augustend as per the disengagement proposalThereafter withdrawal of troops from several friction points is also proposed and these include the Depsang plains and heights around Gogra among some other locationsIn the Depsang China has strengthened its positions in the last five to six yearsChinas statement on disengagementChina on Wednesday said that frontline troops of India and China at the southern and northern banks of the Pangong Lake at the Line of Actual Control have started the disengagement processSenior Colonel Wu Qian spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of National Defence said in a written statement The Chinese and Indian frontline troops at the southern and northern banks of Pangong Tso Lake start synchronised and organised disengagement from February 10The spokesperson further stated that the move is in accordance with the consensus reached by both the sides at the ninth round of ChinaIndia Corps Commander level meetingJoint statement after ninth round of talksOn January 24 after a 16hourlong ninth round of dialogue at Moldo both the countries issued a joint statement wherein it was stated that they have agreed to push for an early disengagement of the frontline troops at the disputed border areas along the LACThe two sides agreed that this round of meeting was positive practical and constructive which further enhanced mutual trust and understanding The two sides agreed to push for an early disengagement of the frontline troops the joint statement statedIt also said that both the countries have also agreed to follow the important consensus of their state leaders maintain the good momentum of dialogue and negotiation and hold the 10th round of the Corps Commander Level Meeting at an early date to jointly advance deescalationThe two sides agreed to continue their effective efforts in ensuring the restraint of the frontline troops stabilise and control the situation along the LAC in the Western Sector of the ChinaIndia border and jointly maintain peace and tranquillity said the statementThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever