NEW DELHI, May 7:
The Chinese troops have pulled back from Daulat Beig Oldi sector in Ladakh where they had intruded on April 15, it was confirmed today even as India was considering a proposal from China to have more friendly contacts between the Armies of the two countries.
A day after flag meetings were held to work out the modalities and arrangements to restore the status quo ante in the sector, sources said they have got a confirmation on the arrangements being completed today.
Sources said the Army’s Unmanned Aerial Vehicles operating in Eastern Ladakh have confirmed that the Chinese platoon camping in Depsang valley has gone back to its side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
Denying that any deal was struck to reach the agreement to restore status quo as it existed prior to April 15 when the Chinese troops intruded 19 km into the Indian territory, sources said India has only “taken-off” a “tin-shed” construction done in Chumar on April 18.
Meanwhile, India is considering a Chinese proposal ‘Border Defence Cooperation Agreement’ (BDCA) aimed at expanding friendly contacts and more communication between the troops of the two sides on the ground which will help in avoiding any misunderstanding or flare-up along the LAC, sources said.
A note on the BDCA is soon expected to be circulated to all stake-holders, including the Defence Ministry, and a final call on it will be taken by the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), sources said here.
The sources said that “at no point did India overestimate the significance or underestimate the seriousness” of the Chinese incursion.
The sources also said India will stress upon China the need to have clarification on the differing perceptions of LAC.
Noting that in the agreements done in 1993 and 1996 between India and China on the issue of LAC, there were clarifications on the differing perceptions on LAC and there were exchanges on it, the sources said that somehow in later years, this discussion went off the table from Chinese side, probably because there was a sense that it may be taken as default boundary.
“There is a need to revive this particular subject to prevent incident of this nature. Clarifications we really seek is imperative and is required. (Otherwise) This (Depsang incursion) kind of incidents could recur. This is something we would certainly flag,” sources said.
According to sources, these issues, along with trade imbalance in favour of China, having an expert-level mechanism to deal with issue of waters and review of bilateral ties will be on the agenda of External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid’s two-day visit to China from Thursday.
Meanwhile, movement of heavy logistics, including surveillance equipment, by the army may have given away the location of its positions in Chumar in Ladakh region to the Chinese troops which started raising protests on it.
These positions are located at key heights at a place called Zhipugi Arla in Chumar area and from there, the Army troops were able to look deep inside the Chinese territory including some of its important road links, government sources said.
After the location of the position was compromised, the Chinese side started demanding that they be dismantled as they were built in violation of an understanding between the two sides against construction in disputed areas, they said.
The sources said following Chinese protest, the Indian side has only “taken-off” a “tin-shed” construction done in Chumar on April 18.
Defence Minister A K Antony today remained non-committal whether India had agreed to withdraw its troops from a key post in Chumar area in Ladkah as was being demanded by China.
“I will just say that the two sides have agreed to have status quo ante,” he said when asked if the Army has agreed to withdraw troops from bunkers built in Chumar area.
Reports today suggested that though the Government has asserted that no concessions were offered to the Chinese to end the face-off in east Ladakh, the Army seemed to have agreed to removal of bunkers built by it in Chumar close to the Line of Actual Control (LAC) to facilitate an agreement.
The reports said the 21-day eyeball-to-eyeball situation in Ladakh’s Depsang valley ended only after the Army agreed to demolish bunkers it had built in the region.
During the flag meetings on the issue during the stand-off between the two sides, the Chinese side had been demanding that India dismantle its bunkers in Chumar before talking about withdrawal of its troops from the Depsang valley. (PTI)
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