With six months since the stand-off at Line of Actual Control and still no sign of disengagement, China has proposed moving its troops back to Finger 8, and return of troops by the two sides to their original locations on the south bank of the lake, reported Indian Express.

As per the reports, the proposal also includes moving back tanks and artillery to the depth areas on either side to reduce chances of any incident in a region where tensions are already high, and troops are battling the harsh Ladakh winter.

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It further said that India is considering the Chinese offer, and modalities for other friction areas are still under discussion.

In a stern message to China, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had asked members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) to respect one another’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and, in a veiled reference to Pakistan, regretted that bilateral issues were being unnecessarily brought into the SCO agenda.

In his speech at the eight member Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit, held virtually, Modi said, “India has strong cultural and historical ties with SCO countries… India believes that to enhance connectivity it is important that we move forward while respecting one another’s sovereignty and territorial integrity”. In an oblique reference to Pakistan raising the Kashmir issue in the past meetings, Modi said, “It is unfortunate that there are unnecessary attempts to bring bilateral issues in the SCO agenda, which is in violation of SCO Charter and Shanghai spirit.”

India, he said, strongly believed in peace, security and prosperity and has always opposed terrorism, illegal arms smuggling, drugs and money laundering. India has remained firm in its commitment to work as per the principles laid down in the SCO Charter, he added. Modi also called for “reformed multilateralism” to meet the present day challenges facing the global community.

In mid-September, India’s National Security Advisor Ajit Doval had walked out of a virtual meeting of top security officials of the SCO member states after the Pakistani representative projected a map that inaccurately depicted Kashmir.