India has not ceded an inch of land to China and discussions are on to initiate disengagement from Gogra and Hot Springs, Indian Army chief General MM Naravane said on March 31.
"There has been a phased disengagement after the ninth round of Corps Commander-level talks and both armies have withdrawn to their previous positions. I want to clarify that we have not lost any territory," Naravane told Aaj Tak.
He further said that India and China have adopted a path of talks to resolve the border tension. "Talks are on regarding locations like Gogra and the Hot Springs," he said, as per the report.
The Indian Army and China's People's Liberation Army (PLA), locked in a stand-off since April-May last year, began disengaging from eastern Ladakh on February 10.
So far, 10 rounds of corps commander-level military talks have been held but the situation has not been normalised in Eastern Ladakh.
The 10th round of military talks was held on February 20 and lasted for 16 hours. In the talks, India insisted on a faster disengagement process in areas like Hot Springs, Gogra, and Depsang to bring down tension in the region that has witnessed a standoff between the two militaries since April last year.
India has all along been maintaining that disengagement at all the friction points was necessary to de-escalate the situation in the region.
The border standoff between the Indian Army and PLA escalated on May 5 following a violent clash in the Pangong lake areas.
Both sides, subsequently, enhanced their deployment by rushing in tens of thousands of soldiers as well as heavy weaponry even as the two sides continued military and diplomatic talks.
Last month, China officially acknowledged casualties for the first time and named four officers and soldiers that it said were killed.
