Negotiations begin between India and China; Pangong Tso still a conflict.

Restoration of status quo ante is still far as negotiations continue over a border stand-off.

On Wednesday, India and China kicked off another round of military talks where both the nations engaged in “tough negotiations” towards de-escalating the ongoing border stand-off in eastern Ladakh since early May, along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

Pangong-Tso face-off the hardest to crack:

Major General Abhijit Bapat, the commander of the Leh based 3 Infantry Division, led the talks on Wednesday from the Indian side. A number of meetings between the rival brigadier and Chinese colonel level officers is expected to follow. With over 7000 troops, artillery guns and tanks within its own territory along the LAC, which is a crucial military build-up by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is a matter of concern for the Indian Army. 

A source close to the Army has revealed, “It will be a step by step process, with each intrusion point and modalities to resolve the confrontation being discussed in detail. The face-off at Pangong-Tso will be the most difficult to defuse. Restoration of status quo ante is still some distance away.”

India in response has too build-up the border security by moving 10000 troops forward to their “operational alert areas”. The talks have resulted in some positive news as the confrontation sites in the Galwan Valley and Gogra-Hot Springs area witnessed both the nation’s troops retreating slightly, around 1-2 km, over the last couple of days.

PLA has blocked all Indian patrols going west to east from a distance of 8 km by occupying the whole area since early May, at the north bank of the major disputed region of Pangong-Tso. 

Sources said that like the meeting at the Chushul-Moldo border personnel meeting point that took place between South Xinjiang Military District Chief Major General Liu Lin and 14 corps commander Lt-General Harinder Singh and on June 6, same kind of talks will be needed to defuse the Pangong-Tso situation.