Indian and Chinese armies held the tenth round of talks on Saturday, February 20, with a focus on the disengagement process at conflict points like Gogra, Despang, and Hot Springs in eastern Ladakh. In the latest round of talks, India insisted on a faster disengagement process in the three areas to bring down tension in the Ladakh region.
The Indian delegation was led by Lt Gen PGK Menon, Commander of the Leh-based 14 Corps. The Chinese side was headed by Maj Gen Liu Lin, commander of the South Xinjiang military district of the People's Liberation Army (PLA), reported PTI.
The discussion, which lasted for over 16 hours on Saturday and went on till around 2 am on Sunday morning, took place in Moldo on the Chinese side of the eastern Ladakh border. The focal point of these talks was to bring down the tension at all friction points.
Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh told Parliament on February 11 that India and China entered into an agreement on disengagement at the North and South banks of Pangong Lake. This agreement mandates both sides to "cease" forward deployment of troops in a "phased, coordinated, and verifiable" manner.
Under the arrangement, China will pull back its troops to the east of Finger 8 areas in the northern bank of Pangong Lake while the Indian army personnel will be based at their permanent base at the Dhan Singh Thapa post near Finger 3 in the region, he added. The mountain spurs in the area are referred to as 'Fingers'.
Meanwhile, China has named and shared details of four soldiers of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) who lost their lives during a clash with the Indian Army in eastern Ladakh's Galwan valley in June last year, after almost nine months. These officers were the regimental commander from the PLA Xinjiang Military Command Qi Fabao, Chen Hongjun, Chen Xiangrong, Xiao Siyuan, and Wang Zhuoran.
Also read: India, China hold 10th round of military talks; focus on further disengagement in eastern Ladakh
Also read: China finally admits casualties during Galwan clash; reveals names of dead PLA soldiers