India-China tensions | China makes untenable demand of asking Indian forces to move back at Pangong Tso: Report

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In a bid to de-escalate matters in Pangong Tso’s ‘Finger areas’, China has reportedly made proposed that Indian forces move back to Finger 2 as a pre-condition to Chinese troops withdrawing to Finger 6, The Economic Times has reported.

Currently, both sides are in locked in a stand-off at Finger 4 of Pangong Tso along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

The proposal is being seen as untenable by India. The Indian position has been that status quo ante should be restored as the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has been the aggressor.

A third round of Corps Commander-level meeting will happen on June 30 at Indian meeting point in Chushul. India will be led by 14 Corps Commander Lt Gen Harinder Singh. The Chinese side will be led by Maj Gen Liu Lin.

Reports suggest that the situation in Ladakh — in Hot Springs, the Galwan Valley and Pangong Tso — has remained largely unchanged for several weeks even as thousands of troops on both sides of the LAC are locked in a stand-off.

The ‘Finger area’ of Pangong Tso is made up of spurs that rise along the bank of the lake. According to India, the LAC is situated at Finger 8. The large swath of land between Finger 4 and 8 used to be patrolled by both sides before tensions escalated in May.

It was earlier reported that while talks with China over the stand-off will continue, there is growing consensus within the Indian government that the country should be prepared for a “military response” if needed.

Tensions along the LAC had been rising since early May amid a stand-off between Indian and Chinese soldiers. However, the tensions escalated to another level after 20 Indian Army soldiers, including an officer, were killed in a violent face-off in Ladakh’s Galwan Valley on June 15-16.

There were casualties on the Chinese side too. However, that number is not clear.

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