The%20news%20of%20India%20China%20disengagement%20is%20a%20welcome%20development%20even%20with%20its%20attendant%20ambiguities%20and%20contradictions.%20As%20part%20of%20the%20first%20phase%20of%20disengagement%20last%20June%2C%20both%20sides%20had%20pulled%20back%20troops%20by%20equal%20distance%20at%20Galwan%20valley%20and%20Gogra-Hot%20Springs.%20It%20was%20during%20the%20disengagement%20at%20Galwan%20that%20violent%20Chinese%20backstabbing%20occurred.%20The%20ongoing%20nine-month%20long%20standoff%20post%20the%20ninth%20round%20of%20military%20talks%20now%20begins%20to%20show%20signs%20of%20a%20negotiated%20face%20facing%20exit%20option%20by%20both%20sides%20claiming%20a%20%u2018win-win%u2019%20albeit%20%u2018no%20loss%20no-win%u2019%20status%20quo%20situation.%20War%20was%20never%20an%20option%20for%20either%20side%2C%20though%20the%20eyeball%20to%20eyeball%20deployment%20could%20have%20resulted%20in%20yet%20another%20ugly%20spark.%26nbsp%3B%26nbsp%3B
Both%20nations%20needed%20to%20buy%20time%20and%20space%20post%20fallouts%20of%20the%20pandemic%2C%20internal%20turbulence%20and%20emerging%20geopolitics.%20This%20has%20afforded%20that%20opportunity%20to%20their%20political%20leadership%20to%20take%20a%20breather%20and%20address%20other%20compelling%20distractions.%20Yet%20the%20question%20remains%20-%20Is%20it%20a%20reprieve%20or%20intent%20of%20a%20long%20term%20truce%20for%20lasting%20peace%3F%20Either%20way%20it%u2019s%20a%20positive%20development.
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The%20present%20military%20deployment%20afforded%20India%20decisive%20operational%20leverage%20at%20Kailash%20ranges%20south%20of%20Pangong%20Tso%2C%20while%20China%20had%20made%20an%20earlier%20ingress%20into%20a%20large%20stretch%20north%20of%20Pangong%20Tso.%20Apart%20from%20Pangong%20Tso%2C%20concern%20for%20India%20has%20been%20the%20strategically%20important%20Depsang%20Plains%20in%20Sub%20Sector%20North%2C%20where%20Chinese%20troops%20have%20been%20blocking%20Indian%20Army%20patrols%20at%20a%20choke%20point%20well%20inside%20the%20traditional%20patrolling%20points%20and%20perceived%20LAC.%26nbsp%3B
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Nevertheless%2C%20Pangong%20Tso%20face-off%20posed%20a%26nbsp%3B%20potential%20flashpoint%20for%20escalation%20and%20logically%20merited%20due%20priority%20for%20de-escalation.%20Yet%20the%20decisive%20leverage%20of%20South%20Pangong%20Tso%20at%20Kailash%20Ranges%20far%20outweighed%20the%20scales%20and%20should%20have%20been%20operationally%20linked%20in%20the%20%u2018synchronised%20and%20organized%20disengagement%u2019%20both%20at%20North%20Pangong%20Tso%20and%20Depsang%20Plains.%20Mention%20of%20%u2018subsequent%20discussions%20for%20next%20stage%u2019%20lacks%20assurance%2C%20commitment%20and%20credibility%20given%20the%20past%20Chinese%20experience%20and%20deceit.%20Besides%20the%20challenges%20of%20veracity%20and%20verification%20of%20disengagement%2C%20lies%20the%20imperative%20of%20preemptive%20deployment%20and%20persistent%20eyes%20across%20the%20horizon%2C%20given%20the%20Chinese%20infrastructure%20advantage%20and%20wavering%20intent.%20All%20this%20will%20demand%20setting%20priorities%20and%20allocation%20of%20matching%20resources%20in%20the%20age%20of%20austerity.
In%20super%20high%20altitude%2C%20both%20troops%20acclimatisation%20and%20supporting%20infrastructure%20for%20build-up%20are%20decisive%20weapons%2C%20but%20both%20have%20attendant%20time%20penalties.%20The%20solace%20lies%20in%20the%20fact%20that%20the%20present%20disengagement%20is%20military-led%20and%20would%20have%20catered%20for%20a%20balanced%20approach%20taking%20into%20consideration%20all%20ground%20concerns.%20Thus%20the%20present%20step%20by%20step%20disengagement%20presents%20a%20case%20of%20cautious%20optimism%20given%20the%20trust%20deficit%20and%20the%20bitter%20memories%20of%20the%20first%20disengagement%20at%20Galwan%20and%20the%20incomplete%20disengagement%20at%20the%20Gogra%20area%20in%20June%202020.%20However%2C%20the%20larger%20picture%20to%20restore%20status%20quo%20ante%20before%20Apr%202020%20and%20time-bound%20framework%20for%20LAC%20resolution%20presently%20remain%20blurred%20and%20undefined.%20Thus%20it%20is%20well%20begun%20but%20yet%20to%20be%20holistically%20done.
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Strategically%20the%20Chinese%20intent%20of%20the%20present%20ingress%20in%20Eastern%20Ladakh%20and%20earlier%20Dokhlam%202017%20must%20not%20be%20lost%20sight.%20Chinese%20strategic%20power%20play%20to%20be%20the%20sole%20regional%20dominant%20power%20in%20the%20short%20term%20and%20global%20superpower%20in%20a%20bipolar%20world%20in%20the%20long%20term%20remains%20a%20disruptive%20factor%20with%20attendant%20security%20instabilities.%20Thus%20a%20resurgent%20and%20strong%20India%20as%20a%20net%20security%20anchor%20remains%20a%20stumbling%20block%20to%20its%20strategic%20ambitions%20and%20an%20unresolved%20LAC%20a%20leverage.%20India%20needs%20to%20leverage%20the%20present%20disengagement%20dynamics%20and%20its%20global%20power%20play%20for%20the%20holistic%20resolution%20of%20LAC%20in%20Ladakh%20sector%20as%20a%20precursor%20to%20extending%20it%20to%20the%20balance%20disputed%20areas.%20This%20should%20be%20the%20strategic%20step%20by%20step%20formulation%20with%20a%20time-sensitive%20mutual%20commitment%20and%20plan.
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