China sets up tents on Indian side in Ladakh's Demchok; no date yet for talks

The Chinese have maded tents on the Indian side of the Charding Nala in Demchok in eastern Ladakh, The Indian Express quoted a senior government.

According to the report, officials described the people occupying these tents as “so-called civilians”, and said that even though India has been asking them to go back, “their presence remains”.

However, Demchok has been bone of contention between Indian and Chinese troops earlier too. India and China had agreed that Demchok and Trig Heights were disputed points on LAC during meetings of the India-China joint working groups (JWG) in the year 1990s.

Later, following the exchange of maps, 10 areas of differing perception of the LAC were recognised: Samar Lungpa, Depsang Bulge, Point 6556, Changlung Nala, Kongka La, Pangong Tso north bank, Spanggur, Mount Sajun, Dumchele, and Chumar, reported Indian Express

Apart from these 12 areas, five more friction points have been added to the LAC in eastern Ladakh over the last year, officials said.

KM120 in the Galwan Valley, PP15 and PP17A in the Shyok Sula area, Rechin La, and Rezang La, are the five friction points

China had proposed the 12th round of Corps Commander-level talks on Monday, but India, which observes July 26 as Kargil Day to commemorate the victory over Pakistan in the 1999 Kargil War, asked for the discussions to be postponed by a few days. The Corps Commander-level talks are now likely to take place in the first week of August, or perhaps earlier, sources said, reported Indian Express

The last Corps Commander-level talks to discuss the disengagement and eventual de-escalation in eastern Ladakh, where India and China are involved in a stand-off since May 2020, were held in April this year, reported Indian Express