The Tribune Exclusive : Talks on restoring patrols at Depsang hit roadblock

The military talks between India and China to work out the modalities of patrols have reached a deadlock over the “extent and routes of patrolling” at Depsang along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh.

Beijing’s reservations

• Sources said the Chinese side had raised two issues. It had reservations about the Indian Army going full extent on the routes of patrolling points 10 and 11
• Secondly, it also had reservations about the extent (distance) of patrol on patrolling points 11A, 12 and 13

Sources said the Chinese military negotiators, tasked with working out the “patrolling arrangements”, had been “dragging their feet” on coordinating the schedule of Indian Army patrols at points patrolled in the pre-April 2020 period. The Chinese side has also expressed reservations over the extent of patrolling.

The brigade commander-level officers of either side have been tasked with working out the modalities after “patrolling arrangements” for reopening of patrolling routes at Depsang and Demchok were announced on October 21 by Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri.

The two sides are negotiating the modalities of patrols at patrolling points (PPs) 10, 11, 11-A, 12 and 13 on the eastern edge of Depsang.

The sources said the Chinese side had raised two issues. Firstly, it had reservations about the Indian Army going full extent on the PPs 10 and 11 routes. Secondly, it had reservations about the extent (distance) of patrol on PPs 11A, 12 and 13.

Last evening, the Indian Army had stated that it had successfully conducted a patrol to one of the points at Depsang. Yesterday’s patrol was to one of the latter three routes, the sources said, but did not specify which one.

Patrolling is being coordinated in a manner that troops of both sides inform each other before a patrol party is launched. The coordination is part of the measures to prevent a face-off.

The LAC — the de facto border between the two neighbours — is undemarcated on the ground. Claims of India and China overlap at several places. All patrolling points east of Depsang are in areas were the claims overlap. India sticks to the claim line of 1959, while China goes by its own claim line of 1962.

PPs 10 and 11 both culminate at separate mountain tops that overlook the new G695 highway made by China in Aksai Chin. In other areas — PPs 11-A, 12 and 13 — the extent of patrols is being questioned by Beijing.

The extent and route of patrolling — referred to in military terms as “limit of patrolling” — have been decided by the China Study Group (CSG).

The CSG was set up in 1975 and is now headed by National Security Adviser Ajit Doval. It is an advisory body and guides the government on policies related to China.

The last time an Indian patrol went east of “bottleneck” was in January 2020.

The Depsang plateau is militarily crucial for both sides. East of it lies the Aksai Chin — the north-western edge of Ladakh illegally occupied by China since the 1950s.

After the modalities were decided at the brigade commander level, the first patrol was conducted at Demchok last week.

The “patrolling arrangements” do not mention resumption of patrolling at other contentious spots in eastern Ladakh where disengagement has been done. These are Gogra, Hot Springs, Pangong Tso and Galwan.

Indian Army claims it has resumed patrolling at ‘traditional patrolling’ areas

The Tribune stands by its story; Army has ‘not’ said it resumed patrolling at all points at Depsang

Letter from Spokesperson, Indian Army, Col Sudhir Chamoli

Reference Tribune news article titled ‘The Tribune exclusive: Talks on restoring patrols at Depsang hit roadblock’ on 06 Nov 2024.

The contents of the article are ‘incorrect’. While the article mentions ‘Talks on restoring patrols at Depsang hit roadblock, authored by Ajay Banerjee and published in The Tribune on November 6, 2024. This rebuttal seeks immediate correction of the ‘misleading information’ presented in the article, which claims that the military talks between India and China to work out the modalities of the patrols have reached a roadblock over the 'extent and routes of patrolling' Depsang along the LAC in Eastern Ladakh. Based on consensus achieved on 21 October 2024, both sides have effectively carried out disengagement, Indian side has resumed patrolling to its traditional patrolling areas.

Both sides are abiding by the consensus and no roadblocks have been created by either side. It is clarified that the subject article published in The Tribune today is ‘speculative and bereft’ of facts.

You are requested to verify facts before publishing such sensitive articles and exercise due editorial discretions.

Furthermore, the article's ‘speculative nature and unverified information’ contribute to a narrative that is not only false but also potentially harmful to national security interests. Reporting on such critical matters requires due diligence and adherence to the highest standards of journalistic integrity.

The Indian Army remains committed to consensus achieved on 21 October 2024 and the security of our nation.

Response by Ajay Banerjee

I totally stand by the news story that said patrolling has, so far, not resumed on all patrolling routes on Depsang – that is PP 10, 11, 11A, 12 and 13.

The consensus announced on October 21 was for two ‘patrolling arrangements’ -- at Depsang and Demchok. The news story in The Tribune was only about the status of restarting patrol on all routes at Depsang. The news item specifically said patrolling has ‘not’ resumed on all routes of Depsang.

The Army, in its ‘rebuttal’ has ‘not’ questioned this aspect. And nor has it said that patrolling ‘has’ started at all routes on Depsang.

The news item did not question the Indian Army of ‘not abiding’ by the consensus or to the terms of disengagement. It only says China is delaying the modalities.  It seems the Army has responded to the word ‘roadblock’ in the headline to assume that we are suggesting a physical ‘road block’ has been set up. The assumption is misplaced.

Due journalistic verification has been done. The Army announced on November 4 the restart of its patrol at one point in Depsang. The same is mentioned amply in the copy published on November 6.

I hold national security in high esteem. Mere use of words by the Indian Army to term this as ‘speculative and false’ does not imply that patrolling has been resumed at all points at Depsang and that we have reported it wrongly.

After the Army’s rebuttal, an email was sent to Col Chamoli asking if he could specify if patrolling at all five patrolling points, PP10, 11, 11A, 12 and 13, on Depsang had resumed.

The colonel responded saying, “Disengagement at the friction points of Demchok and Depsang has been completed and the patrols to traditional patrolling areas has been resumed, as per the terms of the agreement of 21 October 2024, without facing any roadblocks.”