India-China: Pangong remains point of contention

NEW DELHI: Military talks continue between India and China on the border situation but the Finger area along Pangong Tso lake remains a point of contention, with PLA troops unwilling to move behind the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and restore status quo ante.Corps Commander-level talks between Lt Gen Harinder Singh and his Chinese counterpart continued late night Sunday with PLA incursions at Gogra and Finger Area on the discussion table. While there has been a withdrawal of troops at Galwan valley, which was the site of a deadly clash on June 15, the Chinese side has maintained presence at Gogra and Pangong Tso, unwilling to pull back troops despite four rounds of top-level talks.Sources said that the disengagement process has been stalled due to the hard position taken and there has been no further cooling down of tensions in the past fortnight as PLA troops have not vacated the heights in the Finger area and maintain a limited presence inside the Indian perception of the LAC at Gogra as well.Pangong and Gogra are unique from the clash site at Galwan, where PLA troops had breached the Chinese Claim Line (CCL) of 1960 to establish camps in the narrow valley. Chinese troops have since moved back from the CCL, which is contiguous with the LAC at Galwan.However, at Gogra, the CCL and LAC differ by over two kilometres and despite talks, China has refused to withdraw troops posted ahead. In the past, the PLA never had a permanent deployment at Gogra inside the Indian perception of the LAC but this time around, not only do 50 odd soldiers remain forward deployed, they are backed by a brigade-level force posted in Tibet.Similarly, at the Finger Area along Pangong Tso lake, Chinese troops used to earlier only patrol the Finger area that measure over 50 sq km but have set up permanent camps and defences along Finger 4, cutting off the entire disputed area from patrolling by Indian troops since early May.

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