NEW DELHI: Army Chief General Manoj Pande affirmed the schedule of the Ministry of External Affairs on Monday and said that the disengagement at Gogra-Hotsprings (Patrolling Point 15) was on time.
With this, the focus now shifts to standoffs at Depsang and Demchok.
General Manoj Pande said, “I will have to go and take stock. But, it (disengagement process) is going as per schedule, and what was decided.” Gen Pande was speaking on the sidelines of a seminar on Army logistics at Manekshaw Centre.
The MEA had said on September 9 that the disengagement process will be completed by September 12.
With this the standoffs existing at Galwan, North and South Banks of Pangong Tso, Gogra and Hotsprings are complete. India and China announced on September 8 that the Indian and Chinese troops in the area of Gogra-Hotsprings (PP-15) had begun to disengage in a coordinated and planned way, “which is conducive to the peace and tranquility in the border areas.” Meanwhile, the standoff continues at Depsang and Demchok in Eastern Ladakh and calling the standoff sensitive the uniformed personnel cautioned to desist from calling them a legacy issue as it’s “not right”.
Keeping the time of occurrence of the standoffs at Depsang (2013) and CNN in Demchok (2018) these are addressed at times as legacy issues.
“A standoff is a standoff and it seems we are letting it pass as a not-so-important issue which is not right,” said a senior officer asking not to give his name.
As reported earlier by this newspaper, “The Chinese troops are pitched at the Y- Junction in Depsang which is about 20-km from strategic airfield Daulat Beg Oldi (DBO). With this, the PLA is blocking around 100 sq km in this area as Indian troops are unable to patrol at points 10, 11, 11A, 12 & 13 (average distance between points 10-15 kms)."
The Sub Sector North, of which Depsang is a part, is strategically most important.
The terrain is such that large-scale armour operations are possible. China has multiple roads feeding this area while India has only the Darbuk-Shyok-DBO road.
Also, according to the sources, this brings PLA troops closer to India’s strategic road DSDBO Road.
The other standoff remains at the Charding Nonong Nallah in Demchok with around three tends pitched across. The LAC passes through CNN.
Gen Pande on Saturday had carried out a comprehensive review of the overall security situation in eastern Ladakh, two days after Indian and Chinese militaries began disengaging from Patrolling Point 15 in the Gogra-Hotsprings area in the region.
The Chief also witnessed Exercise Parvat Prahar while the disengagement continued.