As tensions simmers in the eastern Ladakh region, the Indian Army has categorically denied reports that its troops have managed to occupy the ridges at Pangong Tso.
“Reports of Indian troops occupying heights at Finger 4 are not correct. As part of the precautionary deployment carried out on 30 August 2020, some readjustments of our positions on North Bank of Pangong Tso Lake on our side of LAC had also been carried out,” the Indian army said on Wednesday.
The clarification comes hours after local media reported that specialised units of the Indian Army had managed to “reach dominating heights” and establish firing posts above People’s Liberation Army positions.
The Line of Actual Control passes through the Pangong Lake area in eastern Ladakh which is marked is by fingers 1 to 8. India controls the western portion of the 45-km long lake, while the rest is under Chinese control.
Since April, when the current border tension erupted, China has dominated an eight kilometer area between Finger 4 and Finger 8, which are situated within the Indian side of the Line of Actual Control.
The two sides have been engaged in military and diplomatic level talks to diffuse the tensions at Pangong Tso and Depsang plains but the recent flare-up in the Chushul Valley has derailed a previous agreement reached between the two Asian giants on 23 July.