INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Lt Gen PGK Menon, tipped to succeed Leh Corps Commander Lt Gen Harinder Singh in October as commander of the Army formation front and Centre
in the 2020 military standoff with China, is the Army Headquarters representative at today's talks.The need for an expanded delegation-level
meeting today, instead of the purely Ladakh-centric military talks that have happened across five previous rounds, was mutually decided on
with the intention to buck the trend of long-winded discussions that have failed to break the deadlock.Since Lt Gen Menon succeeds Lt Gen
Harinder next month, he was considered the obvious choice.Lt Gen Menon, who is currently posted as Additional Director General of the
Complaints Advisory Board (CAB) at Army HQ is in charge of the service redressal mechanism and reports directly to Chief of the Army Staff
General Manoj Mukund Naravane.He has also been Colonel of the Regiment (senior-most serving officer) of the Sikh Regiment since January this
year.But this won't be Lt Gen Menon's first brush with the Chinese Army by any stretch
Less than two years ago in November 2018, he led the first Major General level talks between India and China at Bum La on the Arunachal
At the time he was General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the Assam-headquartered 71 Infantry Division.Lt Gen PGK Menon led the first Major
General level talks between India and China at Bum La on the Arunachal Pradesh-Tibet border in November 2018
(Photo:Indian Army)Like Chushul-Moldo in Ladakh, Bum La is a designated border meeting point
He had held discussions at the time with the PLA's Major General Li Xi Zhong
The 2018 meeting had come a year after the two-month India-China army standoff at Doklam near Sikkim.Owing to the Ladakh standoff, Arunachal
Pradesh has also been on edge in recent days
India Today recently reported on a marked Chinese build-up in at least four locations across the border from Arunachal Pradesh, sparking a
military high alert on the state's borders as well.Lt Gen Menon isn't the only officer flying in from Delhi for Monday's talks at
A Joint Secretary of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) is also attending, making it the first occasion during the current standoff that
a composite military-government delegation is fronting talks aimed at disengagement.They are also, it must be said, a sign that every effort
is being made to ensure that the sixth round doesn't end up like the last five
| At 4 flashpoints near Pangong lake, heavily armed Indian and Chinese troops separated by a few metres
