Indian troops occupy strategic height south of Pangong Tso lake: Report

Indian army troops have occupied a height on the south of southern bank of Pangong Tso lake near Thakung, reported ANI citing sources. The height was lying dormant and can be of strategic advantage for controlling the southern bank of the lake and areas around it to the side in possession of the area, reported ANI.

According to the sources cited by ANI, a special operation was recently inducted into the area. On the night of August 29-30, an operation was conducted and the area was occupied even though Chinese troops were barely a few hundred meters away from the spot.

The sources cited by ANI states that the area is under the Indian side of the Line of Actual Control but China also asserts their claim to the spot. The source also stated that two brigade commander level meetings held in Chusul and Moldo, couldn’t yield a solution to the matter.

Earlier on Monday, the Chinese military had asked India to withdraw its troops from the China-India border in order to avoid escalation of tensions.

The two countries have already been embroiled in border skirmishes that caused the death of 20 Indian soldiers and several Chinese soldiers on June 15.

The two countries have been negotiating a complete disengagement at the Pangong Tso lake in Eastern Ladakh since then.

India and China have held more than five senior commander level talks to negotiate peace at the border. The two sides had begun the disengagement process at the Eastern Ladakh border on July 6.

While China has pulled back from the Galwan valley, the withdrawal of troops hasn’t materialised in Pangong Tso, Depsang, and a couple of other areas.