New Delhi: Senior Indian and Chinese military commanders will meet at Chushul in eastern Ladakh on Tuesday, the fourth such meeting between military officers of the two countries after the border row erupted in early May to discuss the next phase of disengagement between the two armies, people familiar with the developments said on Monday. The meeting is expected to focus on the Finger Area and the strategic Depsang plains, with a complex disengagement process that began after previous military talks on June 30 progressing in Galwan Valley, Hot Springs and Gogra, said one of the officials cited above.

The current disengagement process began after military-level talks on June 30, and a subsequent conversation on July 5 between national security adviser Ajit Doval and Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi. Even as uncertainty persists in the Finger Area and Depsang plains, the army has begun a rigorous verification process to monitor the withdrawal of the PLA from Galwan Valley, Hot Springs and Gogra, where buffer zones between troops have come up.

In Tuesday’s talks, the two commanders are expected to discuss the phased withdrawal of weapons and equipment to a mutually agreed distance from all friction areas along the contested Line of Actual Actual (LAC), and finally the restoration of status quo ante (the situation as it existed in early April), said a second official. At the June 30 meeting between delegations led by Lieutenant General Harinder Singh, commander of the Leh-based 14 Corps, and Major General Liu Lin, commander of the South Xinjiang military region, the Indian side had reiterated its demand for the pullback of Chinese troops from friction points along the LAC and had sought the restoration of status quo ante in the Finger Area, Galwan Valley, Hot Springs, Gogra and Depsang plains, apart from emphasising the need for thinning the military buildup in the region.

The disengagement effort involves rival troops pulling back a specified distance from face-off sites, with further retreat taking place in phases as the complex plan progresses on a verifiable basis on the ground every 72 hours by both sides. The creation of buffer zones has temporarily restricted the patrolling activities of both armies in the region. While some experts saw this as a necessary step, others cautioned that the temporary curtailing of patrolling rights should not become a long-term feature undermining Indian presence and control.

The military build-up in Indian and Chinese depth areas hasn’t thinned, with both sides keeping their guard up. The deployment of thousands of soldiers, fighter jets, helicopters, tanks, artillery guns, missile systems and air defence weapons continues in the region.

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