Pangong Lake

Pangong Lake, situated at a height of almost 4,350m, is the world’s highest saltwater lake. Its water, which seems to be dyed in blue, stand in stark contrast to the arid mountains surrounding it. Extending to almost 160km, one-third of the Pangong Lake lies in India and the other two-thirds in China. Pangong Lake, one of the most famous lakes in Leh Ladakh, derives its name from the Tibetan word, “Pangong Tso”, which means “high grassland lake”. It is also known to change colors, appearing blue, green and red at different

India – China:

• China’s military announced on Wednesday that front line troops of India and China had begun disengaging in a “synchronised and organised” manner from the north and southbanks of Pangong lake, where both sides have been locked in a stand-offfor months which,  was the first step in the long process of disengagement and de-escalation.
• This restarts the stalled process of disengagement in the most protracted military standoffs between India and China in decades that has resulted in the death of 20 Indian soldiersand an unknown number of Chinese casualties at Galwan on June 15, 2020.
• This is the first phase of disengagement with some tanks and armoured elements on the South bank being withdrawn as well as thinning down of troops on the north bank, a Government of India source. However, troops continue to remain in key positions.

Multi-step process:

• It would be a multi-step process for disengagement and de-escalation along     the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
• People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Senior Colonel Wu Qian, spokesman for the Ministry of Defence, said in a statement issued in Beijing: “The Chinese and Indian front line troops at the southern and northern banks of the Pangong Tso Lake start synchronised and organised disengagement from February 10.
• This move is in accordance with the consensus reached by both sides at the 9th round of China-India Corps Commander Level Meeting.”
• China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said in a statement: “According to the consensus reached at the Chinese and Indian Foreign Ministers’ meeting in Moscow and the ninth round of commander-level talks between the two sides, the front-line troops of the Chinese and Indian militaries began to conduct simultaneous and planned disengagement in the Pangong Lake area on February 10.