India-China Border Row: Disengagement concludes at Pangong Tso, Depsang next in line

As per reports, PLA has completely vacated the finger areas of the Pangong Tso while both Indian and the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) troops have vacated the Kailash range on the southern banks of the lake, completing the disengagement process after nine months of the standoff near LAC.

The next round of corps commander talks between both sides is scheduled to be held on Saturday morning at the Moldo Meeting Point on the Chinese side in Eastern Ladakh.

Also Read- Quad meeting 2021: India and other member countries emphasize on respecting territorial integrity & sovereignty

This will be the 10th Corps Commander talks, and the Indian side, which will comprise Naveen Srivastava, Joint Secretary (East Asia) from the Ministry of External Affairs, besides officials from the defense and security establishment, will be led by 14 Corps Commander Lt. Gen. P.G.K. Menon.

The Chinese delegation would be led by South Xinjiang military district chief Major General Liu Lin. sources in the defense and security establishment said both military commanders will review the disengagement process and deliberate on the remaining friction points.

According to defense experts, While the disengagement process at Gogra and Hot Springs areas is likely to be tackled first, sources indicated that the strategic issue of Depsang Plains will take time to resolve. A source said, “A disengagement process was earlier initiated in both Gogra and Hot Springs areas but the Chinese have not implemented it in full. So that should be agreed upon in the meeting tomorrow,”.

Should Read- India-China Border Row: 10th round of Corps Commander level talks to take place on Saturday

“The Depsang Plains is something that could take time as it precedes the current round of tensions, which began in April last year,” he added. As per defense officials, the tensions at Depsang Plains can be traced to China’s 18-km incursion into the area, which is close to the strategic Daulat Beg Oldi base,  2013, and the 2017 Doklam standoff.