India, China To Hold Another Round Of Military Talks on Sunday, Eastern Ladakh De-Escalation Likely On Agenda
The Indian delegation at the talks is to be led by Leh-based 14 Corps Commander Lieutenant General P.G.K. Menon
New Delhi: India and China will on Sunday hold another round of high-level military talks with emphasis on making some forward movement in the disengagement process in the remaining friction points in eastern Ladakh, government sources said.
The talks are scheduled to start at 10:30 a.m. at the Moldo border point on the Chinese side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh, the sources said, PTI reported.
The Indian delegation at the talks is to be led by Leh-based 14 Corps Commander Lieutenant General P.G.K. Menon
In addition to pressing for resolution of issues in Depsang Bulge and Demchok, the Indian side is expected to seek disengagement in the remaining friction points.
The 13th round of talks between the two sides comes in the backdrop of two recent incidents of the Chinese troops’ attempted transgressions in Uttarakhand’s Barahoti sector and Arunachal Pradesh’s Tawang sector.
The troops of the two nations were engaged in a brief face-off near Yangtse in Arunachal Pradesh’s Tawang sector last week. It was, however, resolved within few hours following talks between the two sides’ commanders as per established protocols, the people familiar with the development said earlier on Friday, PTI reported.
Earlier, around 100 soldiers of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) of China transgressed the LAC in Uttarakhand’s Barahoti sector.
The PLA troops returned from the area after spending few hours on August 30.
Army Chief General M.M. Naravane earlier on Saturday expressed concern over the military build-up by China in the eastern Ladakh region and new infrastructure development to sustain the large-scale deployment.
The Chief of Army Staff said if the Chinese military maintains the deployment through the second winter, then it may lead to an LoC-like situation though not an active LoC as is there on the western front with Pakistan.
The border standoff between the Indian and Chinese militaries erupted on May 5 last year following a violent clash in the Pangong lake areas following which both sides gradually enhanced their deployment by rushing in tens of thousands of soldiers as well as heavy weaponry.
Two sides completed the disengagement process in the Gogra area in August following a series of military and diplomatic talks.
Earlier in February, India and China in line with an agreement on disengagement completed the withdrawal of troops and weapons from the north and south banks of the Pangong lake.
Each side currently has around 50,000 to 60,000 troops along the LAC in the sensitive sector.
The 12th round of talks between the two nations had taken place earlier on July 31.
The armies of the two nations completed the disengagement process in Gogra days after the talks.
Top Headlines
Trending News
and tablets
