Pangong disengagement: Assertion that Indian territory is as much as Finger 4 is categorically false, says MoD

Hours after Congress chief Rahul Gandhi focused the Narendra Modi authorities alleging that it has given up the nation’s territory to China, the Ministry of Defence on Friday asserted that India has not conceded any territory on account of the settlement finalised with Beijing for disengagement of troops in Pangong lake areas in jap Ladakh.
“The assertion that Indian territory is up to Finger 4 is categorically false. The territory of India is as depicted by the map of India and includes more than 43,000 sq km currently under illegal occupation of China since 1962,” the MoD stated in an announcement.

“Even the Line of Actual Control (LAC), as per the Indian perception, is at Finger 8, not at Finger 4. That is why India has persistently maintained the right to patrol up to Finger 8, including in the current understanding with China. Permanent posts of both sides at the north bank of Pangong Tso are longstanding and well-established,” it added.
Indian and Chinese armies pulling again their navy tanks from the Pangong Tso area. (Source: Indian Army)
“On the contrary, it has enforced observance and respect for LAC and prevented any unilateral change in the status quo,” it additional stated.
Earlier within the day, Gandhi had questioned the federal government over its settlement with China on disengagement of troops in jap Ladakh. “Why has he asked the Defence Minister to make the statement, the Prime Minister should say – I have given Indian land to China, this is the truth,” he alleged.
He stated it has emerged that Indian troops are actually going to be stationed at Finger 3 at Pangong Tso lake. “Finger-4 is our territory, that is where our post used to be. So, now we have moved from finger-4 to finger-3. Why has Prime Minister Modi given up Indian Territory to the Chinese? This is the question that needs to be answered by him and by the Defence Minister,” Gandhi stated.
“PM is a coward who cannot stand up to the Chinese. He is betraying the sacrifice of our Army. Nobody in India should be allowed to do it,” he stated.
The Wayanad MP additional requested why have Indian troops, after the laborious work that that they had performed in capturing Kailash ranges, been requested to maneuver again.

Gandhi’s assault on the Modi authorities got here a day after Defence Minister Rajnath Singh shared with Parliament particulars of the pact to defuse the tense navy face-off in jap Ladakh that severely strained ties between the 2 Asian giants.
In the House, Singh additionally talked about that there are nonetheless some excellent points concerning the deployment on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) within the area, which shall be taken up in future talks.
As a part of the method, Chinese troops will pull again from Finger 4 to east of Finger 8 on the Pangong north financial institution – that they had are available 8 km west of Finger 8 which India says marks the LAC. Indian troops shall be stationed at Dhan Singh Thapa Post close to Finger 3. For the time being, the stretch separating them shall be a no-patrolling zone.
The border standoff between the Indian and Chinese militaries erupted on May 5 following a violent conflict within the Pangong lake areas and escalated publish the Galwan incident, wherein 20 Indian troopers and an unspecified variety of Chinese troopers misplaced their lives. Both sides subsequently enhanced their deployment by speeding in tens of hundreds of troopers in addition to heavy weaponry whilst the 2 sides continued navy and diplomatic talks.