Partial Disengagement at PP-14 and Pangong Lake, Indians Proceeding With Caution
It has been learnt that there has been disengagement to some extent at Galwan Valley’s Patrol Point 14 and Pangong Lake’s Fingers area, as per which the Indian and Chinese troops have moved back along with their tentage from Galwan Valley’s PP-14 and its surroundings, forming a buffer zone of three kilometers in between, and the Chinese have taken down some structures at Finger 4 ridgeline on the northern bank of the Pangong Lake.
The Chinese, however, remain entrenched at and till Finger 4 with pillboxes, bunkers, and dozens of other structures including a helipad. Since at least May 2020, the Chinese have denied the Indians access beyond Finger 4 — an area claimed by the Indians and patrolled until May 2020 but not permanently controlled. War-like stores at the rear in Galwan Valley also continue to be there.
This development has coincided with a conversation between the Special Representatives of India and China on the Boundary Question — the Indian National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and the Chinese State Councillor and foreign minister Wang Yi. As per the Indian foreign ministry’s readout, the two sides “agreed that it was necessary to ensure at the earliest complete disengagement of the troops along the LAC” and that the “two sides should also ensure a phased and stepwise de-escalation in the India-China border areas.”
In the Chinese readout, they said they “will continue to effectively defend its territorial sovereignty and the border area and peace” and that the consensus reached till now in military and diplomatic talks “should be implemented as quickly as possible to complete the disengagement process”.
While some accounts attribute the Chinese pull-back at Galwan Valley to the understanding reached in the diplomatic and military talks, it has also been reported that the Chinese pull-back is out of necessity as the fast-flowing Galwan river would damage the river-side Chinese settlements at PP-14, the site of deadly clash on 15–16 June in which 20 Indians and an unspecified number of Chinese were killed.
This is the second time such disengagement has been reported. Earlier in June, disengagement had been reported at multiple points of contention, including the Galwan Valley and Hot Springs area, and yet the two sides clashed on 15–16 June.
This is why the Indians are proceeding with caution and are keeping a close watch on the Chinese movements. It would take at least 72 hours to verify the Chinese honesty in pull-back, military sources have been quoted by The Tribune as saying, as the Chinese had pulled back after the 15–16 June clash too but had returned later to occupy the space.
This verification is paramount as the Indian trust in the Chinese is at an all-time low. Shiv Aroor has reported, “Trust of the Chinese has never been lower. It’s matched only by the trust levels in the sixties. Zero trust in words or even limited actions. Army and air force are in operational readiness.”
He added, “To be clear, relocations over last 48 hours is significant, but army isn’t treating pullback of Chinese posts from Galwan and Pangong as a milestone yet. Ground verification is on. Posts can return at short notice. The army will count milestone when status quo ante is achieved as per June 29 talks.”
Despite the public focus on Galwan Valley and PP-14 since the deadly 15–16 June clash, the main concern for those dealing with the situation remains the Pangong Lake where the Chinese have since May 2020 extended control on some eight square kilometers of territory and where the Chinese are now well-entrenched at dominating heights at Finger 4, barely 350–500 meters from the Indian base below between Fingers 3–4.
Madhur Sharma is a Delhi-based journalist. He tweets at @madhur_mrt.
