'Pehle aap' policy arrests Ladakh talks progress

India and China have broadly agreed to ease the border tension during talks in eastern Ladakh but do not know how, writes senior journalist Sanjib Kr Baruah.

New Delhi:The India-China imbroglio in eastern Ladakh is caught up in a strange situation. After having mobilised huge forces and deployed military assets across the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the region, both the Asian giants have broadly agreed to disengage and de-escalate but do not know how.

Chief of Army Staff General Manoj Mukund Naravane said on Tuesday that while both countries have agreed to disengage and de-escalate, there has been no further forward movement as the progress has been thwarted by small ‘details’.

The Army chief was speaking on the sidelines of the customary annual press meet of the Army chief before the Army Day celebrations.

ETV Bharat asked a senior army official who is familiar with the issue on hand as to what these small ‘details’ were.

“On something as small as fixing meeting dates for the talks, it is difficult to get an easy consensus. Both sides suggest different dates. It is like the famous Lucknowi ‘pehle-aap mizazz’ (you first attitude),” says the official in a jocular vein.

“And then there are issues like China asking India to be the first to take the backward step, while India insists China move back first. India asks China to vacate Finger 4 area first while China demands India vacate the dominating heights on the southern bank of the Pangong Tso first,” the official said.

While the PLA surprised the Indian soldiers in May on the north bank of Pangong Tso, the Indians had their chance which they masterfully used in September. This is what Gen Naravane calls the ‘first mover’ advantage.

“First mover advantage will always be there. Like we had in August… We were in eyeball-to-eyeball contact but even then the Chinese did not know that we will surprise them in this manner,” he said in response to a pointed query.

It was on May 5-6 when PLA troops first set up positions on Finger 4 on the northern bank of the Pangong Tso while also occupying the Finger 4 ridgeline with semi-permanent structures even as the scuffle was going on.

Fingers 1 to Finger 8 are finger-like spurs that jut out in a north-south direction from the mountains southwards to the Pangong Lake.

While India claims the LAC runs near Finger 8, China claims territory till Finger 3. In the past, while PLA patrolled from Finger 8 to 4, Indian Army patrolled from Finger 4 to 8.

On the intervening night of August 29-30, Indian Special Forces troops occupied the dominating features on the southern bank of the lake that offers commanding views of Chinese PLA positions including their base at Moldo.

Both sides have had eight rounds of talks till now. There was substantial progress during the sixth round when the two sides agreed not to add more troops in the friction points or to unilaterally change the situation on the ground. But since then there has been a stalemate.