Krishn Koushak
Before External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi reached an agreement in Moscow on September 10 to dial down tensions along the Line of actual control in Ladakh, the heightened tensions led to a firing incident between Indian and Chinese troops on the north bank of pangong Tso, far more intense than the firing of warning shots in theChushul sub-sector has learnt.
A top government officer, aware of the details, said this incident took place during the jockeying for dominating the Fingers on the north bank of the lake. According to the officer, “100 to 200 shots” were fired in the air by both sides on the ridgeline where Finger 3 and Finger 4 merge before moving north as one ridge.
Before External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on September 10 to dial down tensions along the in Ladakh, the heightened tensions led to a firing incident between Indian and Chinese troops on the north bank of far more intense than the firing of warning shots in the sub-sector, has learnt.
A top government officer, aware of the details, said this incident took place during the jockeying for dominating the Fingers on the north bank of the lake. According to the officer, “100 to 200 shots” were fired in the air by both sides on the ridgeline where Finger 3 and Finger 4 merge before moving north as one ridge.
Till date, neither side has officially said anything about the firing on the north bank which took place after the Chushul incident, and was bigger in scale.
While tensions remain on the ground because the next round of talks between Corps Commanders of the two sides is awaited, it is not of the same levels as they were in the first week of September, the officer said.
“In the first week of September, there was a lot of movement” on both the north and south banks of Pangong Tso, the officer said, mentioning “multiple” incidents of firing in the region in the first week of September.
There was, he said, “one small incident” about which, he said, “our chaps didn’t even feel was serious enough to report”. This, he said, was “the Mukpari incident, in which a couple of rounds were fired, which we came to know one day later”.
“Then on the north bank, 100-200 rounds were fired by both sides,” the officer said. “This was near the ridge of Finger 3 and Finger 4, and from where it starts climbing up.” ( Indian Express )
