China is ready to return to Finger 8 in the North Bank of Pangong Tso area | Photo Credit: Getty Images
New Delhi: China has made a proposal regarding “de-escalation” along the line of actual control or LAC that sources said is “unusual.” Yes, China is willing to go back to finger 8 in the North Bank of Pangong Tso area, but India has to move back from finger 4 to between fingers 2 and 3.
Why should India roll back its troops? This is difficult for several reasons:
First, India believes that its territory extends to finger 8. So why should it retreat behind finger 3, where there is a military site?
Second, there were no restrictions on Indian troops in the area before May this year, when the Chinese were in Finger 8. So why should there be any now?
Instead, India has said that the Chinese can go back to where they were in early May, to finger 8. They moved first. They should go back first.
Third, there is a huge trust deficit. Would the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) troops stay in Finger 8 when India moved its troops back? There is no guarantee.
There is talk of a package deal between North Bank and South Bank: of a general withdrawal of both banks, as China is concerned that the Indian military is clinging to tactically important positions in South Bank from Spanggur to Richin La.
What India did in late August, bolstering its positions at the South Bank, has worried the Chinese, leading them to sneak up to Indian positions in the dark and firing into the air. This has happened four times.
This might be a lifeline that China wants, but after what happened in Galwan, India is not willing to give the Chinese any lifeline. India’s position is clear: China has to return to its positions in April this year.
