India to press for early, complete disengagement at Monday’s military talks with China

New Delhi, Oct 11: India will press for early and complete disengagement of troops by China from all the friction points in eastern Ladakh at the seventh round of high-level military talks between the two countries on Monday, government sources said.

The talks are slated to begin at 12 noon in Chushul on the Indian side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh, they said.

The agenda of the talks will be to firm up a roadmap for disengagement of troops from all the friction points in eastern Ladakh, the sources said.

The China Study Group (CSG), comprising Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Chief of Defence Staff Gen Bipin Rawat and three service chiefs, on Friday finalised India's strategy for the military talks.

The CSG is India's key policy-making body on China.

The sources said India will strongly oppose any demand by China for the withdrawal of Indian troops from several strategic heights on the southern bank of the Pangong lake to kick-start the disengagement process.

During the last round of Corps Commander-level talks, the Chinese military insisted on the withdrawal of troops by the Indian Army from several strategic heights in Mukhpari, Rezang La and Magar hill areas around the southern bank of Pangong lake.

Indian troops occupied the strategic heights after the Chinese military attempted to intimidate them in the southern bank of Pangong Lake on the intervening night of August 29 and 30.