India-China To Hold Fifth Round Of Commander-Level Talks Over LAC Disengagement Today

Indian and Chinese military commanders will hold the fifth round of talks on Sunday, focusing on complete disengagement in the Line Of Actual Control (LAC), defusing tensions along the de facto border prevailing since June.

Finger areas in Pangong Tso, Gogra Post and Depsang Plains regions will be the major focus of the meeting, where the disengagement of the troops of the two countries have not taken place, besides the withdrawal of the weapons, reported NDTV.

Commander-level talks between the Indian and Chinese armies were supposed to start at 11 am today in Moldo - the Chinese side of the Line of Actual Control, according to the NDTV report.

The talks will be held in Moldo - the Chinese side of the LAC. The standoffs are at Patrolling Point 17A at Gogra, in Pangong Tso at Finger 5 and 8 areas and the strategic Depsang Plains. On June 15, 20 Indian soldiers were killed in a violent face-off with the Chinese army at patrol points 14 which has been a disputed post in the Galwan Valley in Ladakh.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin earlier had claimed the completion of the disengagement process in most of the regions. However, on Thursday, Indian officials released a statement confirming that the process of disengagement of troops has not yet been completed in most friction points, though some progress has been made.

De-escalation of the border will begin after complete disengagement.

According to the India Today report, the recent satellite images of July 29 showed 13 Chinese boats and 40 special huts in the friction areas of Pangong Lake.

The Indian troops are present between Finger 3 and 2 areas of the lake. Sources told the media there are still no signs of the Chinese army dismantling the structures between Finger 8 and 4 areas. The troops are separated by less than 1 km.

The formal process of disengagement of troops began on July 6, a day after a telephonic conversation between National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

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