New Delhi: India has strongly pitched for disengagement in the strategically important Depsang Plains of eastern Ladakh and rights to patrol traditional patrolling points (PPs) in the area during its 19th round of military talks with China Monday, ThePrint has learnt.
The talks took place less than three weeks ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to India for the G-20 Summit.
Sources in the defence and security establishment said that during the talks — which began at 9.30 am on the Indian side of the Chushul-Moldo Meeting Point in eastern Ladakh — India also sought de-escalation from areas where disengagement had already been done since the stand-off began in May 2020.
They further said that the main issue remaining is the one related to the Depsang Plains, a 972 sq km area located at a height of over 16,400 feet, which, as ThePrint reported, predates the current stand-off.
The Indian delegation is headed by Lt Gen Rashim Bali, commander of the Leh-based 14 Corps. The Chinese team was to be led by the commander of the South Xinjiang military district.
Last month, National Security Adviser Ajit Doval had made it clear to China that tensions along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) had eroded strategic trust and the public and political basis of the relationship between the two countries.
The 18th round of talks in April had also focussed on the Depsang Plains and de-escalation along the LAC, but failed to make any headway.
Sources said that one of the primary points of focus of the 19th round of talks was the Depsang Plains, which fall under India’s Sub Sector North (SSN). As elsewhere, the LAC here is disputed.
The SSN is sandwiched between the Siachen Glacier on one side and Chinese-controlled Aksai Chin on the other.
At one point of time, Indian soldiers used to patrol PPs 10, 11, 11A, 12, and 13. However, the Chinese have now blocked the Indian passage to these points.
The Chinese have been blocking Indian patrols, which go on foot beyond the feature called the Bottleneck area or Y Junction.
While the Indian Army can still push ahead with force to reach its traditional patrolling points, it has avoided doing so to not create any new front.
Indian patrols can reach the Bottleneck by road, but further travel is only possible by foot through two routes. The north route, following the Raki Nala, goes towards PP10 and the southeast route goes towards PP13 along what is known as Jiwan Nala.
The Chinese claim line here is about 1.5 km from an Indian military camp in an area known as Burtse.
The Indian forces have been blocking Chinese patrols from going beyond the bottleneck area. In 2015, however, the Chinese had intruded right until their claim line, but eventually retreated.
(Edited by Gitanjali Das)
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