Sino-Indian clashes at Galwan region kill efforts to end standoff

New Delhi: A possible disengagement at the strategic Galwan valley was to be the high point of Sino-Indian military talks to resolve the six-week standoff in Eastern Ladakh, as military leaders wanted to tackle the trickier issue of Pangong Tso lake later.

Since June 6, talks at lieutenant general, major general and brigade commander levels focused on withdrawal and thinning of troops at the Galwan valley and along the Gogra post in Eastern Ladakh.

This was seen as the easier first step as LAC in these areas are defined and troops have rarely clashed at the locations. Sources said contours of the disengagement were worked out in Galwan with the Chinese agreeing to retreat by at least a km.


While that meant PLA would still be 3 km inside India, the retreat was seen as a first sign of thaw for a standoff that started in early May.

However, an aggressive Chinese Army choose to put up a fight after Indian troops dismantled illegal structures and an observation post PLA had constructed in Indian territory on the South Bank of Galwan. This led to the face off and clash resulting in the killing, making it the worst incident on the China border in over five decades.

Sources said while Galwan and Gogra were to be the easiest, the situation in the Depsang plains closer to the Karakoram pass remained tense as PLA has set up heavy vehicles and camps along the LAC.

The biggest problem that negotiators face, however, will be in the Pangong Tso lake area where Chinese troops have set up defences that have cut off more than 50 sqkm earlier patrolled by Indian troops.

China has refused to include in talks the Finger area it has illegally occupied and insiders say it would be difficult to remove Chinese posts in the region without force. The Galwan clash has negated all progress made during talks in the past few days.