The hope that withdrawal by the Chinese and Indian forces from the north and south of Pangong Tso lake, respectively, to status quo as existing in April-end 2020 would lead to a similar resolution at Gogra, Hot Springs and Depsang Plains appears to be gradually fading. This belief is further strengthened not only by a lack of progress during subsequent talks, but also by the statement of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on March 7.
At his annual press conference, while blaming India for the standoff, Wang stated that the border issue was not the ‘whole story’ of the bilateral relationship and seemed to suggest that the Ladakh issue should be left on the backburner while moving on to ‘business as usual’ in other fields. Thus, the ‘salami slicing’ strategy was sought to be shifted out of focus and glossed over in quest of ‘normalisation’ of mutual relationship. Read More…
