NEW DELHI: In a major breakthrough, senior leadership of India and China finally meet aiming to resolve the four months long tension brewing along the Line of Actual Control in the Eastern Ladakh.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his Chinese counterpart General Wei Fenghe met for the first time on Friday in Russia to discuss the ongoing standoff in the eastern Ladakh. Both the leaders are in Russia to attend the SCO Defence Minister meeting.
The meeting holds significance as the armies of India and China are deployed in standoff positions with mirror deployment of the infantry, armoured, artillery, missiles and combat aircrafts positioned to react swiftly in case of any eventuality.
Rajnath Singh, while addressing the Combined Meeting of Defence Ministers of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) and Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) Member States in Moscow during the day had emphasised that, “Peaceful, stable and secure region of SCO member states – which is home to over 40 per cent of global population, demands a climate of trust and cooperation, non-aggression, respect for international rules and norms, sensitivity to each other’s interest and peaceful resolution of differences.”
The ongoing tension turned ugly on 15 June with a deadly clash taking place in Galwan Valley which lead to casualties on the both sides. While India made public the death of its 20 soldiers, China did not make public the casualty figure even after publicly acknowledging it.
While Chinese PLA ingressed into areas of Finger 4 and Depsang where the claim lines of India and China on the 826 kilometers long Line of Actual Control in Ladakh have a difference of perception,
Indian Army repositioned its deployment on the intervening night of August 29/30. Indian soldiers have not only occupied heights between Chushul and Spanggur Gap which is on the southern Bank of Pangong Tso, they have respositioned to a better tactical position on the North bank of Pangong Lake with soldiers reaching the ridge areas of the Finger 4 which are on the level of the Chinese positions.
India has been reiterating its stand to resolve the matter peacefully with dialogue. The two countries have done precautionary deployment all along the 3488 km long LAC.