Brigadier-level talks between India and China are continuing for the second day on Tuesday to defuse tensions that have flared up on the south bank of Pangong Tso along the disputed boundary.
The talks began at Chushul around 9. 30 a.m., a defence source said. At Monday’s talks, China demanded that the Indian Army withdraw from two peaks that it had occupied on its side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) to pre-empt Chinese moves, the source said.
On Monday, the Army said that Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) troops carried out aggressive moves on the night of August 29 to change the status quo on the south bank of Pangong Tso and those attempts had been thwarted.
A defence source said the Army deployed troops on two peaks in the Chushul sector near the Spanggur gap on the Indian side of the LAC but also claimed by China pre-empting a PLA action to occupy them.
Another source said this was an attempt by China to change the alignment of the LAC westwards in the south bank of Pangong after making ingress up to Finger 4 on the north bank since the standoff began in the first week of May. Unlike the north bank of Pangong, where the Army only undertakes patrols, in the south bank it has a firm presence and has significantly strengthened its defences in the last few years, including the deployment of tanks.
In response, China has accused the Indian Army of “illegally crossing the line” on August 31 at the south bank of Pangong Lake and near the Reqin mountain pass (near Rezang La) and “blatantly provoked and caused tension on the border” while the PLA said they were “taking necessary countermeasures.”
There was no change in the ground situation on the north bank and other standoff areas, the second source said. Chinese troops continued to occupy the ridgelines of Finger 4 and the last two months had undertaken further build-up which showed they were preparing to stay for the winter, the source added.
The two sides have held five round of Corps Commander talks so far since May in addition to military talks at other levels but they have hit a stalemate after some initial disengagement. It was during the first phase of disengagement that violent clashes occurred at Galwan valley resulting in the death of 20 Indian personnel and an unknown number of Chinese casualties.