Hummingbird News Desk
NEW DELHI, 9 OCT: In the backdrop of India-China border standoff, the both countries will hold the 13th round of Corps Commander-level talks tomorrow to discuss the disengagement of troops in the remaining areas in Eastern Ladakh to end the ongoing stand-off, according to Army sources.
The talks are scheduled to be held at Moldo (Chushul) on the Chinese side of the LAC.
The talks will take place nearly two months after both the countries withdrew troops from Gogra. The disengagement at Gogra was carried out on 4-5 August. The disengagement there had taken place after the 12th round of talks between the Corps Commanders held on 31 July.
Sources said India would take up remaining friction areas like Hot Springs and Depsang plains for disengagement at tomorrow’s meeting.
The troops from the two countries have been in a face-off situation in Eastern Ladakh since April-May last year. A face-off between the two militaries in the Tawang sector of Arunachal Pradesh last week also came to light yesterday. The matter was resolved following a meeting between local commanders of the two countries as per established protocols.
India has been insisting that peace and tranquility between the two countries can only be achieved by restoring the status quo ante which existed in April-May last year in Eastern Ladakh.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Thursday had stated that it expected China to work towards early resolution of the remaining issues along the LAC in Eastern Ladakh by fully abiding by bilateral agreements and protocols.
Addressing a weekly media briefing, MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said, “It is our expectation that China will work towards early resolution of the remaining issue along the Line of Control (LoC) in Eastern Ladakh while fully abiding by bilateral agreements and protocols.”
In the last one and a half years, the two countries have held a series of meetings both at the military and diplomatic levels to peacefully resolve the stand-off.
Just a day ahead of the talks, Army Chief General MM Naravane on Saturday said that China is building infrastructure on its side in the region, which means that it is “here to stay”.
Naravane, speaking at a conclave held by a media house, expressed concerns that with both countries developing infrastructure in the region, for the additional troops and military equipment that were brought in last year, the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh would become like the Line of Control with Pakistan, even though it is not active like the LoC.
“It is a matter of concern that the large-scale build-up, which had occurred, continued to be in place. And to sustain that kind of build-up, there has been an equal amount of infrastructure development on the Chinese side. It means that they’re there to stay,” Naravane stated. “But if they’re there to stay, we’re there to stay too. And the build-up on our side, and the developments on our side, is as good as what PLA has done.
He added that India is “keeping a close watch on all those developments”.
Tags: #IndiaChinaStandoff #EasternLadakh #India
