Highlight
- Indian delegation also stressed on restoration of status quo by April 2020
- Talks began at 9:30 am at Chushul Moldo meeting point on the Indian side of the LAC
- There was no official word on the outcome of the talks.
India-China Military Dialogue: India on Sunday pushed for an early withdrawal of troops from all remaining friction points in eastern Ladakh in the 16th round of high-level military talks with China, which took place after a gap of more than four months.
In the discussions that lasted nearly 12-and-a-half hours, the Indian delegation also insisted on restoring the status quo by April 2020 – ahead of the start of the military standoff, people familiar with the development said.
He said the talks began at the Chushul Moldo meeting point on the Indian side of the LAC in the region at 9:30 am and ended at around 10 pm. There was some hope of progress in negotiations on completing the decommissioning process at Patrolling Point-15 in the Hot Springs area.
The Indian delegation in the talks was led by Lt Gen Anindya Sengupta, Commander of the Leh-based 14 Corps, while the Chinese team was led by Major General Yang Lin, Chief of the South Xinjiang Military District.
There was no official word on the outcome of the talks. The 15th round of military talks was held on March 11, but it failed to produce any significant results, with both sides confirming in a joint statement that the resolution of the issues would help restore peace and tranquility in the region and Bilateral progress will help. relations.
The Indian side pressed for the early removal of troops in all remaining friction points, as said by those cited above. It is learned that the Indian delegation also sought resolution of pending issues in Depsang Bulge and Demchok.
India has consistently maintained that peace and tranquility along the LAC is vital for the overall development of bilateral relations. The situation in eastern Ladakh rose to prominence in talks between External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Bali on 7 July.
In an hour-long meeting on the sidelines of a conference of foreign ministers of the G20 countries, Jaishankar conveyed to Wang the need for early resolution of all pending issues in eastern Ladakh.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said, “Recalling the disengagement achieved in some of the friction zones, the External Affairs Minister reiterated the need to maintain the momentum of complete disengagement from all remaining areas to restore peace and tranquility in the border areas.” ” A statement after the meeting.
The Ministry of External Affairs further said that Jaishankar “reaffirmed the importance of fully adhering to bilateral agreements and protocols, and was understood during his previous talks between the two ministers.”
The eastern Ladakh border standoff began on May 5, 2020, following violent clashes in the Pangong Lake areas. Both sides gradually increased their deployment by carrying thousands of soldiers as well as heavy weapons.
As a result of a series of military and diplomatic talks, the two sides last year completed the demilitarization process on the north and south shores of Pangong Lake and in the Gogra region. Each side currently has around 50,000 to 60,000 troops along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the sensitive area.