India-China military talks likely to focus on Pangong Lake clash, Chinese retreat in Galwan

The prolonged camping and a heavy presence of Chinese troops at Pangong Lake in Ladakh at a location that is under Indian control has emerged to be the biggest roadblock for a possible resolution to the ongoing tussle between India and China at the Line of Actual Control (LAC ).
Even though there has been a slight retreat by both armies in one of the standoff points in Galwan region, where significant movement has occurred in recent times, Pangong Tso could be the big focus of the Lt General-level talks to be held on June 6 to end the ongoing deadlock, sources said.
“There were three points of confrontation in Galwan. In one the points, the Chinese army has moved back 2 km and Indian troops retreated by 1 km, ”said a source while talking about the latest development.
Sources said Chinese troops in large numbers have been campaigning at Finger 4 area of ​​the Pangong Tso (Lake) and have matched deployment from the Indian side.
The lake is divided into 8 fingers. In military parlance the mountainous spurs jutting out into the lake are referred to as fingers. Traditionally, India has been controlling Fingers 1 to 4 and China controls the rest till 8.
However, India has claimed the entire stretch till Finger 8. There is an Indian post near Finger 4.
The area between Finger 4 and 8 has been a matter of dispute and has often witnessed confrontations when patrol teams faceoff here.
“Chinese troops have set up a camp and are not going back,” said a source.
There was another clash on May 18 here after the initial violence of May 5 when troops from both sides were left injured. The Army has maintained there was a disengagement and no fresh violence took place.
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The Chinese have a road till finger 4 while Indian troops have to walk a few hundred meters to reach the spot of confrontation between the Indian Army and Chinese soldiers.
The situation escalated last year in September when Indian troops made an alternate track to go past a blockade by the Chinese at Finger 4 to stop Indian patrols to move further, sources said.
This attacking standoff between the two armies was triggered when Chinese soldiers objected to Indian troops coming past Finger 4, using the alternate route.
After the slight retreat of Chinese soldiers in the Galwan region, the Lt Generals from Indian and Chinese armies will hold talks in a rare meeting, after several rounds of militarily dialogue failed to yield any results to end the month-long standoff in Ladakh.
There have been three rounds of talks between Major General-rank officers who are division level commanders. In the laid out protocol this is the higher level of military dialogue to discuss sensitive matters whenever there is a dispute.
The talks are scheduled to take place on June 6 and are considered critical to end the deadlock. The Indian delegation will be led by Leh-based 14 Corp Commander.
Both countries have stated that they are hopeful of a resolution to end the ongoing tussle with China in Ladakh through established bilateral mechanisms.
Since May 5, after a clash at the Pangong Lake in eastern Ladakh between troops from both sides left many wounded, there has been a troop build by both armies raising tensions between India and China.
The massive build by China included enhancement of troop deployment, pitching of tents, amplifying artillery and armored firepower near the Line of Actual Control. It prompted a similar response by Indian Army raising tensions.
There have also been scuffles between troops from both sides.
The escalation was triggered after China objected to road construction by India near the LAC in Ladakh.

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