LAC Standoff: 13th Round Of India-China Military Talks Lasts For 8.5 Hrs, Focus On Remaining Friction Points

The talks, which started at 10:30 AM, took place on the Chinese side of the Chushul-Moldo border point in eastern Ladakh and ended at 7 PM.

New Delhi: India on Sunday emphasised on having an early disengagement of troops in the remaining friction points in eastern Ladakh at the 13th round of military talks with China.

The talks lasted for around eight-and-half hours, news agency PTI reported sources in the security establishment as saying.

According to the report, a major focus of the Corps Commander-level talks was to complete the stalled disengagement at Patrolling Point 15 (PP-15).

The talks, which started at 10:30 AM, took place on the Chinese side of the Chushul-Moldo border point in eastern Ladakh and ended at 7 PM.

The 13th round of negotiations on disengagement took place more than two months after the last round of talks that resulted in the disengagement of troops from Gogra (Patrol Point-17A).

India has been insisting that the resolution of outstanding issues in all friction points including in Depsang is crucial to see an overall improvement in ties between the two countries.

While there was no official comment on the negotiations, the Indian delegation is understood to have conveyed this view firmly to the Chinese side while pressing for bringing down tensions at Depsang, PTI reported.

The Indian delegation at Sunday’s talks was led by Lt Gen PGK Menon, the Commander of the Leh-based 14 Corps.

The fresh negotiation took place in the backdrop of two recent incidents of attempted transgressions by the Chinese troops - one in the Barahoti sector of Uttarakhand and another in the Tawang sector in Arunachal Pradesh.

Around 10 days back, Indian and Chinese troops were engaged in a brief face-off near Yangtse in the Tawang sector of Arunachal Pradesh. The issue was resolved within a few hours following talks between commanders of the two sides as per established protocols, PTI reported.

On August 30, close to 100 soldiers of China’s People's Liberation Army (PLA) transgressed the LAC in the Barahoti sector of Uttarakhand and returned from the area after spending a few hours.

Meanwhile, Chief of Army Staff Gen MM Naravane had on Saturday, said that if the Chinese military continues with its large-scale deployment in the eastern Ladakh region, then the Indian Army too will maintain its strength on its side which he said is “as good as what the PLA has done.”

India-China Border Standoff

India and China held the 12th round of talks on July 31, following which, the two armies completed the disengagement process in Gogra. This was seen as a significant forward movement towards the restoration of peace and tranquillity in the region.

The border standoff between the Indian and Chinese armies erupted on May 5 last year after a violent clash in the Pangong lake areas. Both sides gradually enhanced their deployment by rushing in tens of thousands of soldiers as well as heavy weaponry.

As a result of a series of military and diplomatic talks, both sides completed the disengagement process in the Gogra area in August.

In February, India and China completed the withdrawal of troops and weapons from the north and south banks of the Pangong lake in line with an agreement on disengagement.

Each side currently has around 50,000 to 60,000 troops along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the sensitive sector.

(With Agency Inputs)