Disengagement At The LAC: Protracted Process
Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator.
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By Sunil Garodia
First publised on 2021-02-22 10:40:30
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Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator.
View all posts by this Author
After a marathon meeting, not much headway seems to have been made in the further disengagement talks between India and China. This is unfortunate. As it is, the disengagement at Pangong Tso has been mired in controversy with many opposition politicians and military experts questioning the version put forward by the government. There is increasing speculation that India has conceded territory to the Chinese as part of the agreement to withdraw troops from the eyeball-to-eyeball confrontation positions that could have led to a full-scale war. It is widely believed by many that as part of the agreement, though both sides have gone back from their current positions it means that the Indians have receded further in their own territory while the Chinese have receded backward to positions which are still said to be inside Indian territory. This, some experts say, effectively means that the Chinese continue to occupy Indian territory.
Although the disengagement at Pangong Tso has been well monitored, verfied and documented, with pictures of the Chinese army dismantling camps and moving equipment made available to the media, it has not been answered why the Indian army had to give up their vantage positions at the Kailash Range. Since India was in occupation of the heights before the Chinese ingression in the area last year, this means that the Chinese have achieved what they set out to. The Indian occupation of the heights at the Kailash Range was a sore point with the Chinese as up from there, Indian troops could monitor the entire area and get advance knowledge of any troop movement by the Chinese. By making India give up the heights (even though they do not get possession), the Chinese have ensured that they can move in surreptitiously anytime hereafter. This was a tactical blunder on part of the Indian army. The area between Finger 8 and Finger 4 also has Chinese presence and India did little to negotiate their pullback from there.
Further, the spirit of give and take has not ensured disengagement at other friction points. Both sides negotiated hard for disengagement in the Galwan Valley, the Despang and Gogra Hot Springs in the 10th round of talks but nothing concrete emerged. As per reports, both sides are finding it difficult to agree to points to which both armies must go back. The Chinese are not willing to give up their positions at Patrolling Points 15 and 17A in Hot Springs. This signifies that talks from now on will be a protracted affair and will test the patience of both sides. India has, in the meantime, started taking some measures to build trust and bring the strained relations back on track. Despite keeping checks in place, the government has signaled that it will start clearing FDI from Chinese firms on merit basis. This is a positive development and one hopes that the Chinese keep this in mind when the commanders of the two armies meet for the next round of talks.
pic courtesy: zee news
