There were no physical clashes in Pangong Tso, the sources said. (Representative image)
New Delhi:
The movement of Chinese soldiers took place in Ladakh’s Pangong Lake overnight to change the status quo in the area, the sources said. With no roads in the area, a large number of Chinese troops, deployed along the southern shore of Pangong Lake, drove it west. Their goal was to unilaterally occupy the area, the sources said.
The sources said Chinese troops arrived in “sufficient numbers.” But the Indian army was aware of the Chinese movement and established itself in a movement to block the Chinese advance. There were no physical confrontations and there is no confrontational situation at present, the sources said.
Indian forces in large numbers remain entrenched in the area and ready to respond. Some Chinese forces also remain in the area, the sources said.
This morning, the government said that the attempt by Chinese troops to carry out “provocative military movements to change the status quo” near Pangong Lake has been blocked by the Indian army. A brigade commander-level meeting is being held in Chushul to ease tension, the government said.
This is a new area that the Chinese troops transgressed and it was carried out after five rounds of talks between the armies of both nations to resolve the tension in the Royal Line of Control that began April-May and culminated in the confrontation in the valley. Galwan on June 15, in which 20 Indian soldiers were killed in action. The Indian army also inflicted heavy casualties on Chinese soldiers in what turned out to be the worst confrontation between the troops of the two nations in more than five decades along the Royal Line of Control.
India and China had resolved to resolve the stalemate that began when Chinese intrusions were reported in the Fingers region on the shores of Lake Pangong, the Hot Springs area, the Galwan Valley and the Depsang Plains further north.
In July, following talks between national security adviser Ajit Doval and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, India and China had started the process of disengagement. But it was left incomplete as Chinese soldiers continued to occupy positions along finger 5 and on the slopes that extended to finger 8.
Last week, the chief of the Defense General Staff, General Bipin Rawat, said that India has “military options” for dealing with China if the talks at the military and diplomatic level do not achieve the desired results.
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