Next on table, Gogra, Hot Springs pullpack
Ajay Banerjee
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, June 29
India and China are set to “pick-up the threads” of the unfinished agenda of disengagement and de-escalation along the LAC in eastern Ladakh even as Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has been briefed about what is now a near-permanent military posture in the area.
His three-day visit to Ladakh (June 27-29) had come a day after the virtual meeting of Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination (WMCC) on India-China border affairs on June 25.
The WMCC meetings are coordinated by the Ministry of External Affairs and it was decided to conduct discussions on disengagement and de-escalation of troops, weapons and equipment from Gogra and Hot Springs, two flashpoints along the LAC.
China does not want to bring the troop build-up in Depsang plains into the forthcoming talks. The Indian Army holds a majority of the Depsang plains, while the PLA holds the eastern edge of the plains.
A section of the government is confident of forward movement in the next round (twelfth) of India-China military dialogue, the date of which has not yet been finalised.
Over a year after the standoff began with China blocking Indian Army patrols into areas claimed by both sides, talks on disengagement at Gogra, Hot Springs and Depsang have made no headway.
The MEA has been circumspect, but after the February 22 meeting of military commanders it was indicated that disengagement from these flashpoints would be discussed. However, nothing of that sort happened with China refusing to disengage from these locations.
Rajnath, meanwhile, took stock of the situation in Ladakh. He reiterated the government’s stand of resolving disputes with neighbouring countries through dialogue, but said the safety and security of the nation would not be compromised at any cost.
