Disengagement from Pangong Tso lake area discussed at fifth India-China Corps Commander-level meet

India and China held fifth rounds of meeting between Corps Commanders in an attempt to restore peace and tranquillity across the Indo-China border. The Indian side reiterated that Chinese troops should be de-escalated and disengaged from Pangong Tso lake.

New Delhi: The fifth round of meeting between Corps Commanders of India and China ended at around 9:30 pm on Sunday. In the meeting which lasted for more than 10 hours, Indian side discussed disengagement from Pangong Tso lake area by the Chinese troops, sources said.

The meeting took place at Moldo on the Chinese side of Line of Actual Control, according to sources.

Earlier on July 30, India had said that some progress has been made in the disengagement of troops along the Line of Actual Control in Eastern Ladakh but it has not yet been completed and noted that it expected that the Chinese side will sincerely work for complete disengagement and de-escalation and full restoration of peace and tranquillity in the border areas at the earliest.

The fifth round of corps commander-level talks was held with an aim to defuse the border tensions triggered by a violent clash between the two militaries in Pangong Tso area in eastern Ladakh on May 5.

External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Anurag Srivastava had earlier said that the two sides held the 17th meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination last month and reviewed the situation in the India-China border areas along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Western sector.

Indian and Chinese troops are engaged in a standoff along the Line of Actual Control since May. The tensions between the two neighbouring countries along the border escalated on June 15 face-off in Galwan valley leading to casualties on both sides.

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India and China have held multiple rounds of military and diplomatic talks to resolve the matter. India has been insisting that China must withdraw its forces from areas between Finger Four and Eight. The mountain spurs in the area are referred to as Fingers.

India and China are locked in bitter disputes after the Galwan Valley clash on June 15 in which 20 Indian Army personnel were killed. The Chinese side also suffered casualties but it is yet to give out any details. According to an American intelligence report, the number of casualties on the Chinese side was 35.

Following the Galwan Valley incident, the government has given the armed forces "full freedom" to give a "befitting" response to any Chinese misadventure along the LAC.

The Army has sent thousands of additional troops to forward locations along the border following the deadly clashes. The IAF has also moved air defence systems as well as a sizable number of its frontline combat jets and attack helicopters to several key airbases.

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With inputs from agencies