India-China disengagement at LAC

Indian and Chinese troops kicked off disengagement from Patrolling Point-15 in the larger Gogra-Hot Springs area of eastern Ladakh. However, there is still no progress in the much bigger face-offs at Demchok and the strategically-located Depsang Plains.

Details –

India and China announced that their frontline troops have kicked off disengagement from Patrol Point-15 (Gogra-Hot Springs area) in eastern Ladakh. This is the fourth round of disengagement between the two armies.

Background –

• In May 2020, Indian and Chinese troops clashed at various points along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
• These points included —
  • Pangong Tso, Galwan Nalah and Demchok in Ladakh and at Naku La (a mountain pass at an altitude of over 5000 metres) in Sikkim.
• Later, a violent clash at Galwan Valley started between Indian troops and soldiers of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) in June, 2020.
  • It was the first deadly clash between India and China in at least 45 years. 20 Indian soldiers lost their lives.
• After this incident, both sides deployed a large number of troops in the area along with heavy weaponry.
  • The infrastructure build-up has also been very heavy and the standoff between the two forces is continuing.

The Corps Commander level talks –

• India and China have been holding the talks on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Eastern Ladakh area to resolve the standoff.
• So far, the 16 round of Corps Commander-level talks had been held between the two countries.
• The 16th round took place in July 2022.

Outcomes of the previous rounds of talks –

• Troops were disengaged on the north and south banks of Pangong Tso and Gogra Post.
  • However, at Hot Springs they continued to face each other.
    • Earlier, China had refused to complete the stalled troop disengagement at the Patrolling Point (PP) – 15 in the Hot Springs-Gogra-Kongka La area.
    • Now, as per the consensus achieved during 16th round of talks, both sides announced disengagement in PP-15 region.
• The Chinese have also been preventing Indian troops from accessing five traditional patrolling points on the Depsang Plains(Depsang bulge)
  • These five traditional patrolling are —PP10, PP11, PP11A, PP12 and PP13.
  • Depsang plains are not far from the strategic Indian outpost at Daulat Beg Oldie near the Karakoram Pass in the north. It is a table-top plateau located at an altitude of 16,000-feet.
• The no-patrol buffer zones have been created after disengagement at —
  • PP-14 in Galwan Valley,
  • PP-17A near Gogra
  • Pangong Tso
    • However, these zones have largely come up in what India claims to be its territory.

Challenges –

• The big problem for India remains the major encroachment by the PLA in the Depsang Bulge.
• The PLA has been actively blocking Indian soldiers in Depsang, around 18-km inside what India considers its own territory, from even going to their traditional PPs-10, 11, 12, 12A and 13 in the area since April-May 2020.
• Military experts believe Depsang imbroglio (complexity) can be resolved only through top political intervention.
• Since mid-June, Chinese fighter jets have also shown provocative behaviour by flying close to the LAC.
  • As part of Confidence Building Measures (CBM), both the countries had established 10-km no-fly zone around the LAC.