On de-escalation, India in no hurry until Chinese complete dis-engagment

New Delhi, Aug 06: There shall be no de-escalation in Ladakh until the Chinese complete the disengagement process, India has said.

India has also refused the demand by the Chinese that its troops move back behind the Dhyan Singh Thapa post. An official said that there is no urgency what so ever in de-escalation at Pangong Tso, which has been the biggest point of contention.

Meanwhile a high powered panel headed by National Security Advisor, Ajit Doval held discussions on the issue.

The discussions were held following the meeting of the military commanders of India and China on Sunday. The efforts with China will need to be sustained both on the political and diplomatic front officials informed.

The meeting that lasted three hours was also attended by Defence Minister, Rajnath Singh, Foreign Minister, S Jaishankar and Army Chief General M M Naravane.

The fifth meeting of the commanders was held on August 2. The panel headed by NSA Doval is informally known as the China Study Group. It met on Tuesday and reviewed the discussions, sources told OneIndia.

The source said that India reiterated to China for complete disengagement and de-escalation. India also sought for full restoration of peace and tranquility in the border areas as had been agreed upon during the earlier meetings.

The Indian side also sought for restoration of status quo ante along the Line of Actual Control, the source also added. The official cited above said that the Doval led panel would analyse China's response during the talks.

During the meeting of the military commanders on Sunday, India said that it wanted immediate disengagement at patrolling point 17 (Gogra) and Pangong Tso fingers. While the de-escalation at these points would be a short term solution, diplomatic channels are looking at a long term solution as well which would ensure that the soldiers of both sides are kept apart.