Indian Army establishes dominance at Pangong Tso’s Finger 4, takes control of several heights

New Delhi/Leh: In a significant development, the Indian Army is reported to have made moves and taken control of several dominating heights at Finger 4 on the northern bank of Pangong Tso in eastern Ladakh.

Highly-placed government sources said, as reported by Times Now’s Srinjoy Chowdhury and Pradeep Dutta, that India has now established dominance at heights at Finger 4 near the LAC. He, however, added that the Chinese also continue to be on Finger 4 ridgeline.

Following the moves Wednesday evening, the Indian Army is now in a better position to keep a watch on existing Chinese positions on Pangong Tso’s Finger 4 ridgeline.

The development came on a day when the local commanders of the two armies met and also had a conversation over the hotline. The talks focussed on keeping a check on further escalation in border tensions.

The two sides have also agreed to hold Corps Commander-level talks again to defuse the tensions.

Later in the evening on Thursday (today), the foreign ministers of the two countries are slated to hold a crucial meeting in Moscow, on the sidelines of the SCO Foreign Ministers’ meeting. The talks follow the two countries’ Defence Ministers’ bilateral meet in the Russian capital, also on the sidelines of the SCO meeting earlier this week.

As per sources, the situation in eastern Ladakh remains "tense" on both the northern as well as southern bank of the Pangong lake. There are some 30-40 soldiers of China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) who are holding a position near an Indian post in the Rezang La ridgeline.

Tensions between the two countries along the border are at an all-time high, with both sides accusing each other of firing warning shots in the air on Monday – something that had not happened along the LAC for 45 years.

The Indian Army had on Tuesday stated that PLA troops had tried to close in on an Indian position near the southern bank of Pangong lake on the evening of September 7 and fired shots in the air.

As per sources and pictures made available, PLA troops tried to dislodge Indians from their positions using rods, spears, clubs and pole weapons, known as 'Guandao', on Monday evening. However, alert Indian troops dissuaded from approaching the post.