LAC Standoff | India, China To Hold 14th Round Of Corps Commander Talks On January 12: Report

In the diplomatic talks on November 18, India and China agreed to hold the 14th round of military talks at an early date with the aim to complete disengagement at the remaining friction points.

Representative Photo: PTI

New Delhi: The 14th round of corps commander talks between India and China, to resolve the ongoing stand-off on the Line of Actual Control (LAC), is reportedly going to be held on January 12. 

So far, 13 military-level talks have been held between India and China on the Line of Actual Control in the Eastern Ladakh area to resolve the standoff. 

The 14th round of India-China talks is likely to be held on January 12 to mainly resolve the Hot Springs area - the only new friction point left to be resolved between the two countries, news agency ANI reported government sources as saying.

According to the inputs, this would be the first time that the Indian Army’s new 14 ‘Fire and Fury’ Corps Commander Lt Gen Anindya Sengupta would represent India in talks with the Chinese side. He had taken the post formally on Tuesday. 

The two sides are eyeing the resolution of the Hot Springs friction point that emerged after the Chinese aggression last year. The friction points on the banks of the Pangong lake and Gogra heights have been resolved but Hot Springs remains to be addressed, the sources told ANI. 

Besides this, the report mentioned that India has also been demanding the resolution of “the DBO area and CNN junction area which have been there before the April-May timeframe last year and are considered to be legacy issues”. 

India-China Military Talks

The 13th round of the Corps Commander-level military talks in October had ended in a stalemate with the Indian Army saying its “constructive suggestions” were not agreeable to the Chinese side.

In the virtual diplomatic talks on November 18, India and China agreed to hold the 14th round of military talks at an early date to accomplish the aim of complete disengagement at the remaining friction points in eastern Ladakh.

The eastern Ladakh border standoff between the Indian and Chinese militaries erupted on May 5, 2020, following a violent clash in the Pangong lake areas.

Both sides gradually enhanced their deployment by rushing in tens of thousands of soldiers along with heavy weaponry.

Following a series of military and diplomatic talks, the two sides completed the disengagement process last year on the north and south banks of the Pangong lake and in the Gogra area.

Currently, each side is reported to have around 50,000 to 60,000 troops along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the sensitive sector.

(With Agency Inputs)