India-China Border Row: After First Phase Disengagement At Pangong Tso, Tenth Round Of Military Level Talks Today

The meeting, which was scheduled to happen 48 hours within the first phase of disengagement, will take place at around 10 am on February 20 at Moldo on the Chinese side.

New Delhi: As the first phase of the disengagement process between the Indian Army and the People's Liberation Army (PLA) in eastern Ladakh has been completed in the Pangong Tso region, military delegations from both sides will hold the tenth round of commander-level talks on Saturday. As per reports, India and China military delegates, in during the talks, will discuss disengagement at other friction places at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh.

The meeting, which was scheduled to happen 48 hours within the first phase of disengagement, will take place at around 10 am on February 20 at Moldo on the Chinese side. Both sides will reportedly discuss other friction areas like Hot Springs, Gogra, and 900 square km Depsang Plains.

During the talks, 8-year-old Depsang escalation is also likely to be discussed as India has insisted the Chinese side, during recently conducted military commander meetings, to solve all issues across the Line of Actual Control. "The initial attempt will be to resolve Gogra and Hot Springs. Finding a solution to Depsang might be tricky and take longer," news agency IANS quoted an official as saying. 

The representatives from both sides, during the tenth round of "corps commander level" meet, will also verify the status of disengagement at the northern and southern banks of Pangong Tso Lake. On February 10, China made an announcement that New Delhi and Beijing have agreed to disengage at Pangong Lake.

According to senior government officials, both sides are physically verifying and re-verifying disengagement at Pangong Lake. "It is a joint inspection team, both from the Indian Army and Chinese PLA," the officer said. 

As per the agreement between India and China, PLA troops will move back its troops to Finger 8, while Indian Army will pull back soldiers to the Dhan Singh Thapa post between Finger 2 and 3 of the north bank of Pangong Tso. There would also be a temporary moratorium on military activities, including patrolling to the traditional areas.

Earlier in the day, China for the first time officially accepted that 4 PLA soldiers were killed in the fierce clash with Indian Army at Galwan Valley region of eastern Ladakh in July 2020. China also released a video in which soldiers from both side can be seen clashing with each other.