Since China began this buildup, the Indian side says Chinese troops will have to start the de-escalation.
Only then will Indian troops go back.
The June 6 meeting agreed to this roadmap.
Long-time Rediff.com Contributor Nitin A Gokhale, editor-in-chief, StratNews Global, in his latest video (external link) discloses the road map of what exactly was decided at the June 6 meeting between India and China to defuse border tensions.
The meeting, which lasted six hours and was held in two phases, pre- and post-lunch, began around 11.30 am IST.
For the first half an hour, the two delegation leaders -- Lieutenant General Harinder Singh, General Officer Commanding of the Leh-based 14 Corps, and his counterpart, commander of the Tibet Military District -- had a one-to-one meeting.
This meeting set the base for the next round of discussions.
The next two hours was followed by the delegation-level meeting. India deputed 10 to 15 Indian Army officers. China too had a similar number.
This delegation-level meeting thrashed out the many points that needed elaboration.
The post-lunch meeting that followed had five main points of discussion: De-escalation on both sides from Finger 4; PP-14; PP-15: PP-17A; and the gradual de-escalation in depth areas (about 20 km from the Line of Actual Control).
Gokhale reports that brigadiers and major generals from both sides will discuss the first four points over the next 10 days.
The expectation is that the deinduction at three of the four points will likely get resolved at their levels.
For the Finger 4 situation, another lieutenant general level talks may be needed, after the meetings between the brigadiers and major generals conclude. Therefore, that is expected to take some time, Gokhale reports.
The final point made at the June 6 meeting by the Indian side was to ensure deinduction to peacetime locations on either side.
India was insistent that since the Chinese began the buildup on their side of the LAC by bringing in artillery and more troops it will have to be the first to begin deinduction.
Both sides will do so simultaneously, but the beginning of the deinduction to peacetime locations and not the operational locations that they are in right now needs to be begun by China, was the point made by the Indian delegation.
At Finger 4, India has set a precondition that the Chinese side must withdraw to its pre-May 8 positions.
Why May 8? Because when on May 5 and 6 the buildup began and the Chinese started coming in, in numbers of 300 people in the Finger 4 and Finger 8 areas, National Security Adviser Ajit Kumar Doval and his Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi spoke at length on May 8 and agreed to give directions to their respective militaries to 'cool it' on the border.
The Indian side adhered to Doval's directions and did not take any buildup actions until the Chinese brought in another 200 people at Finger 4 and Finger 8.
Since China began this buildup, the Indian side says Chinese troops will have to start the de-escalation. Only then will Indian Indian troops go back.
The June 6 meeting has agreed to this roadmap, and the first four points on it are expected to be accomplished in a month's time.
