Biggest Inside Scoop on India-China LAC meet – Defence News of India

SOURCE: NEWSX

Amid rising tensions between India and China at the LAC, there finally seems to be some thaw in the chill in sight. Highly placed sources in the army gave our sister channel NewsX some inside details on the high-level military dialogue held on Saturday. Top Indian Army Sources inform NewsX that both the corps commanders interacted one to one for almost 3 hours before engaging at the delegation level. Both sides have reportedly identified five conflicting locations- Patrolling point (PP) 14, 15, 17, North Bank of Pangsong Tso lake and Chushul.

Also, sources inform us that both the sides mutually decided to meet at these locations on a regular basis for next 10 days and try to sort out the issues. Army officers of the lower rank of Col, Brig and Major Gen will attend these meetings. The first meeting of this series of HMCLs (Higher Military Commander Level) will be held tomorrow at PP14.

To ensure smooth relations between the two armies, it was also proposed that both the sides should meet often and conduct a Corps Commanders level meet once or twice a year. The hotlines at tactical level, identified as DBO-TWD & Chushul-Moldo are currently on and open. After the meeting, both the armies have retreated a bit, which wasn’t done until Saturday. India has, however, reiterated that that construction at the DBO road, which has been objected by China, will not be halted as the area lies within the Indian boundary. It’s response to PLA has also been stopped quickly and strongly.

Sources have also expressed that the army headquarters are fully satisfied with the Northern Army & 14 Corps Commanders’ actions as they have managed to match to the Chinese’s army in terms of men & machine deployments at every location. If PLA doesn’t retreat, the army is also fully ready prepared for a long & permanent deployment. They added that all the three services, are coordinating well among themselves and sharing regular briefs on PLA front. But, as long as the core issue remains undecided at the LAC, these episodic issues will continue to persist. Another major issue that continues to be a bone of contention is actually the built up by both the sides.

Sources say that China has deployed fighter-bombers, Rocket forces, Air Defence radars, jammers etc on the rear side. To counter that, the Indian side has also deployed all its major assets just few KMs away from the frontline. Though both sides are committed to solution via communication it looks like the face-off is likely to continue until one side decides to re-treat.