New Delhi: With scores of soldiers injured, some badly, in the recent fracas between Indian and Chinese PLA soldiers near the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh, the use of unwarranted violence will be on the agenda item of the Indian delegation when the two sides meet on Saturday.
The May 5-6 fracas near the northern bank of the Pangong lake — seen in videos and pictures that went viral on social media — saw free use of fists, stone pelting and use of clubs spiked with iron nails between PLA and a composite team comprising Indian army soldiers and ITBP troopers.
"Use of spiked clubs and other crude weapons was totally disproportionate and uncalled for. It will definitely be on the agenda when the Indian and Chinese military teams meet on Saturday," a senior military source familiar with the developments for upcoming meeting told ETV Bharat.
"While all soldiers were treated locally within Ladakh, some of the injuries were quite bad," the source added.
Significantly, in a sign of willingness to de-escalate and of a build-up to the Saturday meeting, both sides are reported to be pulling back amassed troops and equipment by a km or so in the Galwan Valley, usually not a point of dispute but has become a flashpoint this time.
The other items on the agenda will include going back to the original position that existed prior to the May 5-6 violence and de-induction of the additional forces that had built up in the rear of the at least four face-off points in eastern Ladakh. After the incident, both the militaries had buttressed their positions with more soldiers, heavy vehicles and artillery guns in the rear positions of the LAC.
ETV Bharat had earlier written that on Saturday the Indian and Chinese military will be taking recourse to a scaled-up ‘rare’ level of engagement—at the lieutenant-general level—in a bid to resolve the vexed face-off near the LAC.