India and China are scheduled to hold the fourth round of Corps commander-level talks at Chushul at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) on Tuesday (July 14). The talks will focus mainly on the second phase of disengagement along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), said the Indian Army officials. The talks are significant because this will be the first meeting between senior officials of Indian and Chinese troops after the first phase of disengagement.
On July 5, the Special Representatives of India and China on the Boundary Question – National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Chinese State Councillor and Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi – had a ‘frank and in-depth exchange’ during a telephone conversation during which they agreed that both sides should complete the ongoing disengagement process along the LAC expeditiously.
As part of the first phase of disengagement, Chinese troops have moved back from Finger 4 to Finger 5 in the Finger area. They have already moved back by around two kilometres in the other friction points including Galway valley, Hot Springs and Patrolling Point-15, top government sources told ANI.
On July 6, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) moved back by at least 1.5 kilometres from three friction sites in Galwan Valley. Rearward movement of vehicles of the PLA was seen at General area Galwan, Hot Springs-Gogra Post. They have also reduced their presence on the ridgeline of Finger 4 in the recent time as demanded by India.
The Indian side has also moved back as per the mutual disengagement agreed upon during the Corps Commander-level talks, the sources added. The vacant spaces will be treated as temporary non-patrolling zones by both sides and their troops will not come there.
In the first phase of the disengagement process, the PLA was seen removing its tents, vehicles and structures almost 1.5 kilometres back at three friction points along the LAC. The development came after the third round of Corps Commander meet between two countries during which the Chinese side agreed to focus on carrying out the de-escalation process at the LAC.