Updated: September 16, 2020 7:10:02 am
Satellite images taken in May 2020 show Chinese tents on the north shore of Pangong Tso. (Planet Labs via Reuters, file)
Before the Foreign Minister, S Jaishankar, and his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi reached an agreement in Moscow On September 10 to reduce tensions along the Royal Line of Control in Ladakh, heightened tensions led to a shooting incident between Indian and Chinese troops on the north bank of Pangong Tso, much more intense than the shooting warning in the Chushul subsector, The Indian Express has learned.
A senior government official, aware of the details, said this incident occurred during the maneuver to dominate the Fingers on the north shore of the lake. According to the officer, “100 to 200 shots” were fired into the air from both sides at the ridge line where finger 3 and finger 4 merge before moving north as a ridge.
Both India and China had issued statements about the dismissal incident in the Chushul subsector on September 7, which took place at a function called Mukpari Heights; officials said this was the first time in 45 years that shots were fired across the LAC.
To date, neither side has officially said anything about the shooting on the north bank that took place after the Chushul incident, and it was on a larger scale.
While tensions remain on the ground because the next round of talks between the Corps Commanders of the two parties is expected, it is not at the same levels as in the first week of September, the official said.
“In the first week of September, there was a lot of movement” on both the northern and southern shores of Pangong Tso, the officer said, mentioning “multiple” shooting incidents in the region during the first week of September.
There was, he said, “a little incident” about which, he said, “our boys didn’t even feel it was serious enough to report.” This, he said, was “the Mukpari incident, in which a couple of rounds were fired, which we learned about a day later.”
“Then, on the north bank, both sides fired 100 to 200 rounds,” the officer said. “This was near the crest of finger 3 and finger 4, and from where it starts to rise.”
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Foreign Minister S Jaishankar shakes hands with Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi. (Photo / PTI Archive)
In the week after the night of August 29-30, when Indian troops got ahead of PLA movements and maneuvered them to occupy certain heights throughout LAC, putting India in an advantageous position, there were continuous attempts by the Chinese to “dislodge” Indian troops from these previously unmanned locations.
At various positions in the Chushul subsector on the southern bank of Pangong Tso, Indian and Chinese troops are less than 300 meters apart.
Over the next week, India also readjusted its positions on the north shore of the lake: Chinese troops have been sitting on the ridge of Finger 4, which is 8 km west of Finger 8, which India marks LAC.
It was during these times that the Indian and Chinese troops fired around 100 rounds each, into the air. Also in this area, troops from both sides are located within 500 meters of each other.
The situation, however, has since calmed down, the officer said. “Now things have calmed down thanks to the talks between our Minister of Defense and his Minister of Defense and the Ministers of Foreign Affairs. The focus has shifted to dialogue, ”he said.
While the earlier “aggression” and constant “intimidation” by Chinese troops, he said, had stopped, “they are still there … Their presence is there, it doesn’t take long to get your tank up and running. move again. “
“For the moment, the intimidation and aggression have stopped. The level (of discussions) has gone up a bit more. Military commanders will speak, of course, we will make our point, they will make their point. But I don’t think your military commander is mandated to accept anything more than a minor concession, ”the officer said.
“In the end, it will be something driven by the best. That is the importance of the dialogue we are having at the level of Chancellor and Defense, ”he said.
Defense Minister Rajnath Singh met with his Chinese counterpart Wei Fenghe in Moscow on September 4. Jaishankar met with Wang on September 10. While the defense ministers meeting failed to break the deadlock, the foreign ministers issued a joint statement to “continue their dialogue, disconnect quickly, maintain the appropriate distance and ease tensions” and work towards new measures to promote the trust “between the two parties given the existing trust deficit.
Chinese National Defense Minister Wei Fenghe, left, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, center, and Rajnath Singh pose for a photo with colleagues at a Joint Meeting of Defense Ministers of the Organization of Shanghai Cooperation in Moscow (AP)
The two sides agreed to hold another round of talks between the corps commanders, although the date has yet to be decided. The official indicated that this time, the talks may include an official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“They accepted that the talks will be there. But the date is not set yet. Once the agenda is also received, the delegation list is received, then we will see if it should include someone from Delhi, from MEA as well, ”he said.
According to the officer, before India occupied the heights along LAC in the Chushul subsector, China was in an advantageous position, and in discussions at the military and diplomatic level, “they were trying to negotiate time” as ” at that particular stage they were better ”and“ had no reason to negotiate ”.
“The Chinese were trying to carry out a similar activity on the southern shore” of the lake when Indian forces got ahead of their move. Now, the heights where the Indian troops are located “are between the two lines” of the different perceptions of LAC from the two countries.
On the current positions of the fingers on the north bank, the officer said that the Indian soldiers were above the Chinese deployment on finger 4.
Chinese troops, he said, are “trying to go higher,” but “we are in a slightly better position, there is a limit to how much he can keep playing” on that ridge line, and that the Chinese could not sustain themselves. at a higher point on the ridge than where the Indian soldiers are.
“Logistically,” the official said, the Chinese “will not be able to stay” where they want to go, “especially in another month” when the peaks start to snow. The Indian side, he said, had a shorter connection with its base at finger 3 than the Chinese side with its base between finger 6 and finger 7.
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