Disengagement at Pangong Lake in eastern Ladakh to be over by end of this week, talks between India and China next week

New Delhi: The complete disengagement at the Pangong Lake in eastern Ladakh as agreed between India and China last week is expected to be over by end of this week. Last week it was agreed that as part of disengagement, Chinese forces will move east of Finger 8 of the north bank of the Pangong Lake, while India will base its troops at the permanent base--Dhan Singh Thapa post near Finger 8.

Right now, on the ground, between Finger 4 and Finger 8, things are in various stages of dismantlement. Remember as part of the agreement, it was agreed that any structure built by both sides after April 2020 will be removed. This was the month when Chinese attempts to change things on the ground unilaterally started.

Once the disengagement is over at Pangong Lake, no patrolling will take place in the area from Finger 4 to Finger 8 till both sides agree via diplomatic and military talks.

The 10th round of military talks, which was agreed to happen 48 hours after complete disengagement will happen, expectedly next week. The talks will focus on disengagement on Gogra, Depsang, and Hot Spring. On Friday, the defence ministry said other outstanding "problems" including in Depsang, Hot Springs and Gogra will be taken up at the upcoming talks between military commanders of the two countries.

2020 saw heightened tensions between India and China due to aggressive actions by Chinese forces at the Line of Actual Control (LAC). The Galwan incident saw the death of 20 Indian soldiers, and while China also suffered casualties, it did not come up with any number.

The government had on February 12 emphatically stated that India has not "conceded" any territory following the disengagement agreement with China in the Pangong Tso Lake area in eastern Ladakh. After a nine-month standoff, the two militaries reached the agreement on disengagement in the north and south banks of Pangong lake that mandates both sides to cease forward deployment of troops in a "phased, coordinated and verifiable" manner.

On February 11, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh made a detailed statement in Parliament on the disengagement pact. According to the agreement, China has to pull back its troops to the east of Finger 8 areas in the northern bank while the Indian personnel will be based at their permanent base at Dhan Singh Thapa Post near Finger 3 in the region. Similar action will take place on the south bank of the lake as well, Singh said in Parliament.

In 2020, the Chinese military built several bunkers and other structures in the areas between Finger 4 and 8 and had blocked all Indian patrols beyond Finger 4, triggering a strong reaction from the Indian Army. In the nine rounds of military talks, India was specifically insisting on the withdrawal of Chinese troops from Finger 4 to Finger 8 on the North bank of Pangong Lake. The mountain spurs in the area are referred to as Fingers.