India, China discuss further disengagement in eastern Ladakh during 10th round of talks

India and China held  their 10th round of military talks on Saturday that focused on taking forward the disengagement process at friction points like Hot Springs, Gogra and Depsang in eastern Ladakh, reported PTI, quoting official sources. The talks were conducted two days after both sides completed the withdrawal of troops and weapons from North and South banks of Pangong Tso in the high-altitude region.

According to official sources, the tenth round of Corps Commander-level talks began at 10 am at the Moldo border point on the Chinese side of the Line of Actual Control and it went on till around 2:00 am, ANI reported.

During the meeting, India reportedly insisted on a faster disengagement process in areas like Hot Springs, Gogra and Depsang to bring down tension in the region that has witnessed a standoff between the two militaries for over nine months.

A source said, “The focus of the talks is on carrying forward the disengagement process. Both sides have met to discuss modalities for it.”
The source added that India has been maintaining that disengagement at all the friction points was necessary to de-escalate the situation in the region right from the beginning. 

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had announced in Parliament on February 11 that the neighbouring countries had reached an agreement on disengagement in the North and South banks of Pangong lake that mandates both sides to “cease” forward deployment of troops in a “phased, coordinated and verifiable” manner.

He added that China will, under the agreement, pull back its troops to the east of Finger 8 areas in the northern bank of Pangong lake while the Indian personnel will be based at their permanent base at Dhan Singh Thapa Post near Finger 3 in the region.