India and China on Wednesday to hold another round of military talks to ease escalating tension triggered by fresh confrontation between the two sides on the southern bank of the Pangong lake in eastern Ladakh, top Indian Army sources said.
The Brigade Commander-level talks will begin at 10 am in Chushul in eastern Ladakh with a specific agenda to discuss the situation around the Pangong lake, they said.
The two sides held talks on Tuesday as well in Chushul on the Indian side of the LAC but it could not produce any tangible outcome, the sources said.
India on Tuesday said China again engaged in "provocative action" two days after the Peoples Liberation Army made a bid to change the status quo in the South Bank area of Pangong lake in eastern Ladakh, calling the attempts a reflection of "complete disregard" to bilateral understandings.
External affairs ministry spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said the Indian side was able to prevent these attempts to unilaterally alter the status quo due to the timely "defensive action", and asked China to "discipline and control" their frontline troops from undertaking such "provocative" actions.
He said the Chinese side violated previously agreed understanding and engaged in provocative military manoeuvres in the late night of August 29 and on August 30 in an attempt to change the status quo in the South Bank area. The attempt seen as China's bid to open a new front in the prolonged border standoff in a fresh confrontation was thwarted by the Indian troops.
"As stated yesterday by Indian Army, the Indian side responded to these provocative actions and took appropriate defensive measures along the LAC in order to safeguard our interests and defend the territorial integrity," he said.
Following the Chinese attempt, the Indian Army has significantly strengthened its presence on a number of "strategic heights" around the Pangong lake besides further bolstering its presence in the area.
"The Indian Army is now dominating all the strategic mountain heights around the Southern Bank of Pangong lake," said a source.
The sources said the Indian Air Force has also been told to enhance its surveillance on increasing Chinese air activities along the LAC in eastern Ladakh.
There have been reports that China has deployed J-20 long-range fighter jets and several other key assets in strategically located Hotan airbase which is around 310 km from eastern Ladakh.
The fresh attempt by China to change the status quo in the Pangong lake area is the first major incident in the area after the Galwan Valley clashes on June 15 in which 20 Indian Army personnel were killed.
China also suffered casualties but is yet to make the details public. According to an American intelligence report it was 35.
India and China have held several rounds of military and diplomatic talks in the last two-and-half months but no significant headway has been made for a resolution to the border row in eastern Ladakh.
With inputs from PTI