The field commanders have been asked to be ready for any eventuality at the Line of Actual Control (LAC)

India has rejected China’s proposal to disengage equidistantly from the Finger-4 Area in Eastern Ladakh region and maintained that the Chinese side should be the one disengaging and going back. An ANI report carried by The Times of India has suggested that after the diplomatic talks, the sides are also planning to hold military level talks soon.

“The Chinese side made a suggestion that both India and China should go back equidistantly from the Finger-4 Area. The suggestion is not acceptable to the Indian side,” a senior official said.

According to the report, the field commanders have been asked to be ready for any eventuality at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) as the Indian side prepares for a long haul.

The Chinese side has deployed a large number of troops between Finger 5 to Finger 8 and the Indian side maintains the stance that the Chinese Army should disengage and leave the Finger Area.

India has also highlighted China’s violation of agreements between both the countries that prohibited any construction in the disputed areas. The agreements were signed between the two between 1993 and 1996. The ANI report mentioned that China has done construction in the Finger Area which is a violation of the agreement, the report said.

India and China have been at loggerheads with each other for three months. China moved its troops towards the Indian side in the areas such as Finger Areas, Galwan Valley, Gogra Heights and Hot Springs. The relationship saw its worst in years on June 15 when a clash broke out between Indian and Chinese troops in Galwan Valley in which 20 Indian soldiers were killed in action while the casualty on the Chinese side remains unspecified.

Since then, India and China have held several rounds of talks but without any success. Amid this, India remains firm that China should first disengage, only then can de-escalation be done.

Read the full report in The Times of India