Ajay Banerjee

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, July 13

Lieutenant General-level commanders of India and China will commence talks to draw the contours of the most important phase of the military de-escalation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh.

45K soldiers lined up on either side

There has been no change in deployment. An estimated 45,000 troops have been deployed by either side along the 826-km LAC in Ladakh

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The meeting is slated to commence at 11.30 am at Chushul (on the Indian side) in eastern Ladakh on Tuesday.

This will be the fourth such meeting. The earlier meetings were conducted on June 6, June 22 and June 30. India will be represented by Leh-based 14 Corps Commander Lt Gen Harinder Singh and China by Maj Gen Lin Liu, Commander of the South Xinjiang Military Division.

The two sides are expected to finalise a roadmap for de-escalation, which is the second stage of the three-step process agreed to by both armies to restore peace along the LAC. There could be multiple meetings before a consensus is reached on a timeline on withdrawing weapons and thousands of troops of each side.

Currently, there is no change in the deployment. Hundreds of artillery guns and tanks, deadly rocket launchers, missiles, fighter jets, airborne bombers and attack helicopters of both sides are lined up near the LAC. Long-range artillery guns, which can take 40-km shots, are deployed 2-3 km away from the LAC, said an official. Both sides have ensured “mirror deployment” (each side matching the other).

The first stage of the three-step process, which commenced on July 6, was to create a buffer of 3 km between troops of either side.