New Delhi
India and China on Tuesday resolved the last remaining friction point on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) created post-May 2020 as troops from both countries pulled back from their respective positions in the Gogra Heights-Hot Springs area.
"Armies of India and China today completed the disengagement process in Gogra Heights-Hot Springs area near Patrolling Point-15 in eastern Ladakh sector. The two sides have also completed verification of each other's positions after pulling back troops from friction point," government sources said.
The friction point near the Patrolling Point 15 of the Indian Army near the LAC in eastern Ladakh was the final one to be resolved by both sides. The two sides had resolved the friction points in Galwan valley and on both the north and south banks of the Pangong lake. The friction points were created in May 2020 when the Chinese army showed aggression and tried to unilaterally change the status quo on the LAC but the Indian security establishment retaliated strongly and thwarted the Chinese attempts.
Senior government sources said the Chinese side wanted de-escalation too, along with the disengagement from the PP-15 area but India is not in a hurry to de-escalate the situation in the eastern Ladakh sector where the two sides have continued to maintain over 50,000 troops facing each other.
"Complete de-escalation at the moment would not be possible as India would want to address the issues in the Daulat Beg Oldie sector and the Demchok area where Indian patrols are still being objected to by the Chinese military," the sources said.
The Indian security establishment driven by National Security Council Secretariat are of the view that the present situation should be used for addressing the legacy issues also, including the ones created long ago.The Indian Army matched the Chinese aggression strongly and even 24 months after face-offs and skirmishes, the formations dealing with the issue kept pressuring the Chinese military as per Army Chief General Manoj Pande's instructions.
The Northern Command had been very proactive all along and upped the ante especially in recent times as it held three major wargames in the eastern Ladakh sector including Exercise Blitzkrieg in June, Exercise Red Hunt in August and the latest one Exercise Parvat Prahar in August-September.
The Indian Army is also of the view that if the troops have been deployed in such large numbers along the LAC in eastern Ladakh, they should ease out only after securing a solution of the long pending issues.
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