As India and China prepare for the ninth round of military dialogue to restore the status quo ante in the East Ladakh sector, New Delhi awaits “some clarification” on Beijing’s withdrawal and de-escalation roadmap, said people familiar with the affair.
According to military and diplomatic officials based in Delhi and Beijing, the window of opportunity for disengagement and de-escalation of friction points along the 597 km-long Line of Control (LAC) would close in December when snowfalls. Very strong, polar temperatures and the high-speed winds that sweep across the Tibetan plateau and the Ladakh heights would make any significant movement of troops, artillery and armor nearly impossible. So far, both sides have deployed more than three troop divisions on each side with missile, artillery and armor support.
“There is a roadmap on the table, but India has asked China for specific clarification on the gradual withdrawal of both the Indian Army and the People’s Liberation Army. Clarifications could be a deal breaker, but responses from Beijing are awaited. The step-by-step withdrawal and de-escalation movements will be detailed in a written agreement if the clarifications are satisfactory for both countries, ”said an official familiar with the matter.
“Clarifications (requested by India) could be a deciding factor, but responses from Beijing are awaited,” said an Indian official.
The Border Roads Organization (BRO) is already fighting an uphill battle to keep the Zoji La axis open until December 31, 2020, as the weather in eastern Ladakh has worsened with multiple snowfalls and the temperature is already very below minus 20 degrees. -brand. The terrain on the Indian side of LAC is mountainous and glacial, while it is a flat plateau on the Tibet side of China.
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Since the PLA aggression on the north bank of the Pangong Tso in May 2020, followed by the transgressions in Galwan, Gogra-Hot Springs, the armies of two countries have been locked in a stalemate at various points in eastern Ladakh for more six months. . The Indian counterattack to the PLA aggression was to occupy the heights south of Pangong Tso, the glacial saltwater lake that stretches over 700 square kilometers, half the size of the national capital, Delhi, and dominates the area. from Chushul-Moldo with the Kailash Ranges under its control.
The PLA wants India to disconnect from southern Pangong Tso first, but New Delhi has made it clear that the Chinese military will first have to abandon the advanced areas before the Indian military withdraws from the dominant heights south of the lake.
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Since the PLA has built roads to its outposts in LAC, New Delhi believes that the withdrawal of the two armies should be such that the time required to return to the point of withdrawal is the same for both sides.
India has taken a cautious approach towards disengagement and de-escalation, a senior official said, noting that New Delhi will have to put aside its deep mistrust of the PLA that has grown over the past six to seven months. India has on several occasions stressed that China had violated 30 years of written agreements to maintain peace and tranquility throughout LAC by intensifying the confrontation and then reiterating its 1959 claim on Ladakh, which had been rejected by India’s first time it was proposed. by the Mao Zedong regime, to justify their actions.
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