India, China hold Major General-level talks, disengagement in Depsang Plains discussed

On August 7, Vice Chief of Air Staff Air Marshal Harjit Singh Arora had visited several airbases along the LAC in eastern Ladakh.

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New Delhi: Continuing the effort to disengage peacefully at the Line of Actual Control (LAC), India and China on Saturday (August 8, 2020) held a Major General-level talk at Daulat Beg Oldi area over the withdrawal of Chinese troops from the Depsang plains in the Ladakh region.

As per sources, the sixth round of military-level talks began on Saturday morning at around 11 AM and concluded by 7:30 PM, in order to ease the tensions that escalated in June when the two countries engaged in violent clashes in Ladakh's Galwan valley.

The brutal clashes on the night of June 15 resulted in 20 Indian soldiers getting killed in action, while over 50 reportedly died in China's Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) camp.

"The two sides focused on disengagement from Depsang Plains, where the Chinese have marched with over 17,000 troops along the LAC," reported ANI news agency.

The last Corps commander-level talks between the two countries were held on August 2 in which the Indian side had insisted on complete disengagement of Chinese troops at the earliest, and immediate restoration of status quo ante in all areas of eastern Ladakh.

Earlier on August 7, Vice Chief of Air Staff Air Marshal Harjit Singh Arora visited forward air bases in the Ladakh sector and interacted with air warriors of the combat units currently operating in the sector.  He also reviewed operational preparedness at IAF bases.

The VCAS urged all air warriors, NCs(E), DSC personnel & Civilian staff to continue discharging their duties with utmost sincerity & ensure a high state of combat readiness at all times. He also flew Chinook and Light Combat Helicopter during his visit. — Indian Air Force (@IAF_MCC) August 7, 2020

Subsequently, the IAF has reportedly deployed most of its frontline fighter jets like Sukhoi 30 MKI, Jaguar and Mirage 2000 aircraft in the key frontier air bases in eastern Ladakh and other critical places along the LAC.

Notably, amid simmering tensions between the two armies, India has also recently got hold of 5 Rafale fighter aircraft, which according to former Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal (retd) BS Dhanoa will give the country a strategic advantage in case of any aerial combat with China in the mountainous Tibet region, reported PTI news agency.

The Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria & AOC-in-C WAC Air Marshal B Suresh welcomed the first five IAF Rafales which arrived at AF Stn Ambala today.#IndianAirForce#RafaleInIndia#Rafales pic.twitter.com/xNK97fwynf — Indian Air Force (@IAF_MCC) July 29, 2020

The India and China relations have soured ever since the June 15 clashes and resulted in many strict actions from the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government.