NEW DELHI: A year after troop disengagement between India and China from the two remaining face-off sites at Depsang and Demchok in eastern Ladakh, there is as yet no actual de-escalation on the ground with the rival armies set to remain forward deployed for the sixth successive winter in the forbidding high-altitude terrain. The military thrust amid the ongoing diplomatic détente is to manage tensions and “maintain peace and tranquillity” all along the 3,488-km long Line of Actual Control (LAC), stretching from eastern Ladakh to Arunachal Pradesh. The People’s Liberation Army (PLA), however, continues with its relentless infrastructure build-up along the frontier.
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At the 23rd round of corps commander-level meeting at the Chushul-Moldo border meeting point in eastern Ladakh on Oct 25, “both sides agreed to continue to use existing mechanisms to resolve any ground issues along the border to maintain stability”, the external affairs ministry said on Wednesday. This was the first meeting of the “general-level mechanism” in the western sector of the LAC since the 24th round of special representatives talks between national security advisor Ajit Doval and Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi in Aug this year. The meeting between the Indian 14 Corps commander and the South Xinjiang Military District chief was held in “a friendly and cordial atmosphere”. The two sides “noted the progress” since the 22nd round between them a year ago and “shared the view that peace and tranquillity has been maintained in the border areas”, the MEA said.
The troop disengagement at Depsang and Demchok, along with “coordinated patrolling” by the rival troops there, has certainly reduced the chances of any clashes and inadvertent vertical escalation. The trust deficit, however, remains high, sources said. De-es
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