NEW DELHI: India and China have yet to agree on modalities for proposed troop withdrawal in the east Ladakh, making it virtually certain that your soldiers will remain deployed to the forbidden heights during the long and harsh winter to come.
The seven-month military standoff in eastern Ladakh “is frozen in time” now, and “no significant progress has been made” after the eighth round of corps commander-level talks on November 6.
“Talks have virtually stalled on the exact modalities and sequence of steps for a mutually acceptable rollback. China has not yet returned to the date of the ninth round of military dialogue, “a source said Thursday.
China is adamant on the proposed withdrawal from the southern shore of the Pangong Tso-Chushul area, where India troops are in tactically advantageous positions on the ridge line that runs from Thakung to Gurung Hill, Spanggur Gap, Magar Hill, Mukhpari, Rezang The and Reqin La (Rechin mountain pass) from August 29-30.
India, in turn, wants the disconnect to start from the north bank of Pangong Tso, where the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has occupied the 8 km stretch from ‘Finger 4 to 8’ (mountain spurs) since early May. .
This remains the main bone of contention, with “some differences” in recoil distance in the “finger” area also to be resolved. Then there is also the question of the strategically located Depsang Plains, where the PLA has been actively blocking Indian patrols for the past seven months.
During the eighth round, India and China generally agreed to withdraw troops, tanks, howitzers and armored vehicles from ‘sticking points’ in the Pangong Tso-Chushul area, raising hopes for an early breakthrough.
But disagreement over modalities for this, along with a joint verification mechanism, has stirred the tone. Even as 50,000 soldiers from each of the two sides remain entrenched in the long term, there is a growing assessment in the Indian security system that current rival deployments will become the de facto position for the foreseeable future if there is no intervention. at the highest level. political-diplomatic level.
Senior officials argue that “there is no need for India to rush headlong into disengagement.” Great care must be taken to ensure that the Indian troops are not left in a tactically disadvantageous position.
“It will certainly be a harsh winter for our soldiers sitting at altitudes of more than 15,000 feet, with temperatures already below minus 20 degrees Celsius, along with the extreme wind chill factor and lack of oxygen there,” said one official.
But the PLA is also facing such adverse conditions and, for the first time, unlike Indian soldiers who are used to being deployed at such heights. “The Indian Army has conducted a massive logistics exercise to support soldiers with the necessary infrastructure and supplies this winter. If LAC becomes like the LoC with Pakistan, with permanent deployments, so be it… Things will be easier starting next winter, ”he added.
Even if the two sides eventually agree to a disengagement plan, it will be slow, and a gradual pushback will become even more difficult at the peak of winter. After all, there is a huge confidence deficit after the PLA breached an earlier withdrawal plan in the Galwan Valley on June 15, leading to the extended skirmish in which 20 Indian soldiers and an unspecified number were killed. of Chinese.
.
