Chinese military further withdraws troops from Pangong Tso area: Sources

Chinese military furr thinned down its presence in ridgeline of Finger Four and removed some boats from Pangong lake in eastern Lakh ahe of ar round of Lt General-level talks between India and China aimed at finalising modalities for complete disengment along Line of Actual Control(LAC), people familiar with development said on Saturday. escalation in tension in eastern Lakh was triggered by a violent clash between two armies in Pangong Tso on May 5 in which a sizeable number of personnel from both sides were injured.

Following incident, both sides were locked in an eyeball-to-eyeball confrontation in three or locations in region. At military talks, two sides are expected to specifically focus on completing withdrawal of troops from Pangong Tso and Depsang besides laying out a detailed romap for disengment of large numbers of troops from rear bases by two sides in a time-bound manner. Both sides h significantly ramped up troops and weaponry including tanks and artillery guns in eastern Lakh.

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formal process of disengment of troops began on Monday morning after a nearly two-hour telephonic conversation between National Security visor Ajit Doval and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Sunday. Chinese military has alrey completed moving back its troops from face-off sites in Galwan Valley, Gogra and Hot Springs in line with first phase of disengment process from friction points on LAC in eastern Lakh, sources said.

main focus w shifts to Pangong Tso. India has been insisting that China must withdraw its forces from areas between Finger Four and Eight. mountain spurs in area are referred to as Fingers. re has been furr withdrawal of Chinese troops in ridgeline of Finger Four and y have removed some boats from Pangong lake, sources said.

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India and China in diplomatic talks

On Friday, India and China held ar round of diplomatic talks during which both sides resolved to push ahe with "complete disengment" of troops in eastern Lakh in a timely manner for "full restoration" of peace and tranquility. At meeting, it was decided that senior commanders of two armies will meet "soon" to discuss furr steps to "ensure complete disengment and de-escalation".

After online diplomatic meeting under framework of Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination (WMCC) on India-China Border Affairs, Ministry of External Affairs(MEA) said two sides agreed that maintenance of "enduring peace" in border areas was essential for overall development of bilateral ties. MEA said two sides reaffirmed to ensure complete disengment of troops along LAC for "full restoration" of peace and tranquility in border areas in accordance with bilateral agreements and protocols.

Both sides have held several rounds of diplomatic and military talks in last few weeks to ease tension in region. However, re was visible sign of any end to standoff till Sunday evening. On June 30, Indian and Chinese armies held third round of Lt General-level talks during which both sides agreed on an "expeditious, phased and step wise" de-escalation as a "priority" to end standoff.

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first round of Lt General talks was held on June 6 during which both sides finalised an agreement to diseng grually from all standoff points beginning with Galwan Valley. However, situation deteriorated following Galwan Valley clashes as two sides significantly bolstered ir deployments in most areas along LAC. Twenty Indian army personnel were killed in clashes on June 15.

Chinese side also suffered casualties but it is yet to give out details. According to an American intelligence report, number of casualties on Chinese side was 35. Tensions h escalated in eastern Lakh around two months back after around 250 Chinese and Indian soldiers were engd in a violent face-off on May 5 and 6. incident in Pangong Tso was followed by a similar incident in rth Sikkim on May 9.

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