Disengagement begins, but doubts remain as to whether the LAC “buffer zone” will be eliminated

The day after the South Block announced the findings in the Indo-China border talks, and as the process of disengagement began on the Line of Actual Control (LAC), doubts about the agreement have begun to sprout up. Photos are used for representational purposes. | Photo Credit: PTI

The day after the South Block announced the findings in the Indo-China border talks, and as the process of disengagement began on the Line of Actual Control (LAC), doubts about the agreement have begun to sprout up. Questions were raised about whether the “buffer zone” created in eastern Ladakh would be scrapped, with experts and former diplomats calling for full “transparency” on the contours of the resolution.

Although the government has maintained that current forces will return to their pre-2020 positions, at least two senior officials with knowledge of the ground situation have said that the “buffer zone” will not be included in the current patrol rules, as it is limited to that area. from Demchok and Depsang.

“It appears that the buffer zone that was created was not reviewed in the agreement. Therefore, the statement of the government that it will return to the situation before the 2020 standoff is a contradiction,” said former Chinese Ambassador Ashok Kantha. “My concern is that we have lowered the bar on dissolution, or at least the government has declared that separation is over, prematurely,” he said.

The MEA did not respond to a request for comment on whether the buffer zone would remain, but officials dismissed the “contradiction” in the statement.

‘Back to 2020’

The confusion over the buffer zone, experts say, is related to the original statement about the “breakthrough”, which was announced on October 21, two days before the meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping. On the same day, Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar said that both sides have been negotiating a standoff since 2020, when he met Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Moscow.

“We have reached an agreement on the patrol and we will return to the situation in 2020,” Mr Jaishankar told the TV channel, adding “We can say that the process of separation with China is over”.

But cautiously, Army Chief Upendra Dwivedi said both sides “need to reassure each other that we are not intruding into the buffer zone we have created,” and build trust before tackling disbandment, de-escalation, and de-induction. phase.

A day later, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri then clarified that “if the agreement was reached before, the agreement will not be reopened in the discussion”, clarifying that the patrol arrangement and the return to the situation in 2020 is only called a new one. agreements in Depsang and Demchok.

Buffer zone

“There is no clarity whether the buffer zone will continue to exist or whether it will be eliminated,” said Manoj Joshi, Distinguished Fellow at the Observer Research Foundation and author of the book, Know the India-China border. “The emphasis is on the agreed patrol arrangements, so we need to know whether patrols will be allowed in the buffer zone as well,” he said.

A “temporary demilitarized zone” (DMZ) or buffer zone was set up to stabilize the tense situation at five points of friction in the LAC where India and China have agreed to eliminate them between February 2021 and September 2022. This is in the Galwan valley. , the northern bank of Pangong Tso, and the Kailash Range on the southern bank, where India surrendered the height captured in August 2020 at the patrol point or PP 17A in Gogra and PP15 in the Hot Springs area.

The first buffer zone was created after the Galwan clash in which 20 Indian soldiers were killed, while the Chinese forces suffered only four casualties on their side. After brutal clashes, and amid serious tensions, military commanders on both sides have agreed to create a buffer zone three kilometers wide (1.5 km on both sides). Subsequent disengagements also saw the establishment of a buffer zone several kilometers wide.

Lose access to the area

At the time, the buffer zone was criticized by Indian military analysts, who said the zone would mean Indian soldiers would have to move back into Indian territory, cutting off access to patrol larger areas. In January 2023, the police newspaper said that as a result of the Chinese trespass and the separation process, Indian soldiers had lost access to “26 out of 65” patrol points.

The former diplomat welcomed the government’s move to re-engage diplomatically with China, but said “transparency is paramount”.

“A return to ‘business as usual’ is now not recommended as structural issues remain unresolved,” Mr Kantha said. The Hindu. “Peace and tranquility in the border process remains incomplete. We should not let our guard down. This is not a reset,” he said.

“This is a positive development, but both sides must continue to work hard to ensure that the process of building peace and trust goes further,” said former Foreign Secretary and Ambassador to China Nirupama Rao, who wrote the book. India-China-Tibet 1949-1962. “Post-Galwan, the popular perception of each other has decreased and will continue to be a factor that prevents us from having relations with others,” he added, stating that the border conditions must be verified step by step, direct flights, visas, and academic relations can be facilitated with the current détente.