India-China Conclude 10th Round Of Talks; Discuss Disengagement In Gogra, Hot Springs And Depsang

The commanders from both the sides sat across the table on Saturday to discuss pullback of troops from the friction points at Hot Springs, Gogra Post and Depsang Plains in Ladakh.

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In a continuous effort to simmer down the border deadlock, India and China on Sunday concluded the 16-hour long 10th round of Corps commander level talks at Moldo on the Chinese side of LAC.

According to the media reports, the commanders from both the sides sat across the table on Saturday to discuss pullback of troops from the friction points at Hot Springs, Gogra Post and Depsang Plains in Ladakh.

News agency ANI quoted the Defence Ministry saying that the 10th round of India-China Corps Commander Level meeting was held on the Chinese side of the Moldo/Chushul border meeting point. The two sides positively appraised the smooth completion of disengagement of frontline troops in the Pangong Lake area noting that it was a significant step forward that provided a good basis for resolution of other remaining issues along LAC in Western Sector.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Two sides agreed to follow the important consensus of their state leaders, continue their communication &amp; dialogue, stabilize &amp; control the situation on the ground, push for a mutually acceptable resolution of the remaining issues in a steady &amp; orderly manner: Defence Ministry</p>&mdash; ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/1363480851707662339?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" rel='nofollow'>February 21, 2021</a></blockquote>
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The 10th round of military dialogue came a day after Indian Army and China’s People's Liberation Army (PLA) on Friday completed the disengagement process at the tense Pangong Tso sector of Ladakh.

MEA spokesperson Anurag Srivastava in a press briefing noted that the agreement was reached after several rounds of sustained negotiations at the military and diplomatic level. He added that next steps post disengagement has been “clearly spelt out” by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in his Parliament speech. 

Congress doubting Indian army's bravery: Rajnath Singh

Reacting at the development, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh hit out at Congress for 'doubting' Indian soldiers' bravery. While speaking at the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha's state conference today, Rajnath Singh said the country will not allow any "unilateral action" on its border and will pay any cost to thwart such attempts.

"After nine rounds of military and diplomatic dialogue, the disengagement process is complete. But unfortunately the Congress is doubting Indian army's bravery.... isn't it insulting to the soldiers who do the supreme sacrifice," he said.