20 Indian soldiers were killed in a physical clash on June 15 at Galwan Valley in Ladakh.
New Delhi:
Senior commanders of the Indian and Chinese armies will meet today for the tenth time to take forward the Galwan Valley disengagement process, official sources have said. This round comes a day after it was revealed that the two militaries had completed the withdrawal of troops and military hardware from the banks of the Pangong lake in Ladakh. Following several rounds of talks, this process of withdrawal began on February 10. The Corp Commander-level talks are scheduled to start at 10 am today at the Moldo border point on the Chinese side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh, the sources said.
These talks began on June 6, 2020, as part of the process to “disengage” in all sensitive areas of the LAC, the de facto border between the two countries in the region. In April 2020, India accused Chinese troops of intruding into its side of the LAC.
Things spiraled when 20 Indian soldiers were killed in a physical clash on June 15 at Galwan Valley in Ladakh. Only yesterday, China officially acknowledged casualties on its side, naming four officers and soldiers that it said were killed in this skirmish.
The two sides have been talking to each other since then to bring down hostilities.
In a statement to Parliament on February 11, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said China will pull back its troops to the east of Finger 8 areas in the northern bank of Pangong lake while the Indian personnel will be based at their permanent base at Dhan Singh Thapa Post near Finger 3 in the region.
He said similar action would take place on the south bank of the lake as well.
The Defence Minister had said that it was agreed to convene the next meeting of senior commanders of both sides within 48 hours of completion of the Pangong disengagement so as to resolve all other remaining issues.
He later said that other outstanding “problems”, including Depsang, Hot Springs, and Gogra, will be taken up during the next military talks.