India and China are likely to hold the 11th round of military talks later this week to discuss disengagement of troops from the remaining friction points in eastern Ladakh, sources in the defence ministry said on Monday.

The armies of the two countries had disengaged last month from the south and north banks of Pangong Tso Lake.

A ground assessment by the Indian security establishment earlier this month had suggested that the Chinese army was continuing to strengthen its position at Ladakh’s Depsang Plains, where the Chinese are entrenched 18km inside India-claimed lines, amid the ongoing dialogue for disengagement from all friction points.

Sources said the disengagement at the Depsang Plains was going to be a serious challenge as the Chinese troops have continued to cut off the Indian Army’s access to five traditional patrolling points at the Depsang Plains — PPs 10, 11, 11A, 12 and 13 — since the border standoff in May last year.

The Depsang Plains is strategically very crucial for the Indian Army.