No Territory lost Due to Disengagement with China: Indian MoD

Indian Ministry of Defence has clarified that the country has not conceded any territory as a result of disengagement pact reached with China.

“Ministry of Defence has taken note of some misinformed and misleading comments being amplified in the media and on social media regarding the disengagement currently underway at Pangong Tso…. it is necessary to set the record straight and counter certain instances of wrongly understood information being amplified in media and social media,” the ministry said in a statement today.

The MoD said that the “territory of India is as depicted by the map of India” and includes more than 43,000 sq km currently under illegal occupation of China since 1962.

Even the Line of Actual Control (LAC), as per the Indian perception, is at Finger 8, not at Finger 4. That is why India has persistently maintained the right to patrol upto Finger 8, including in the current understanding with China.

Permanent posts of both sides at the north bank of Pangong Tso are longstanding and well-established. On the Indian side, it is Dhan Singh Thapa Post near Finger 3 and on the Chinese side, east of Finger 8. The current agreement provides for cessation of forward deployment by both sides and continued deployment at these permanent posts.

“India has not conceded any territory as a result of this agreement. On the contrary, it has enforced observance and respect for LAC and prevented any unilateral change in the status quo,” the ministry asserted.

Issues regarding Hot Springs, Gogra and Depsang be taken up within 48 hrs of the completion of the Pangong Tso disengagement.

Disengagement began at 9am on Wednesday. By the next day, China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) had reportedly withdrawn over 200 main battle tanks from the south banks of Pangong Tso. It had positioned no less than 100 heavy vehicles to ferry its troops from fingers on north banks to Srijap sector, east of Finger 8.