Tawqeer Hussain
The 13th round of India-China military talks over the standoff in Ladakh on Sunday remain inconclusive as ‘the Indian Army said, adding the Chinese side was not agreeable and also could not provide any forward-looking proposals, India’s Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement issued Monday morning.
“The two sides have agreed to maintain communications and also to maintain stability on the ground. It is our expectation that the Chinese side will take into account the overall perspective of bilateral relations and will work towards early resolution of the remaining issues while fully abiding by bilateral agreements and protocols,” the statement said.
According to the reports, during the marathon meeting started around 10 am in the morning and continued till 07:30 PM in the evening, the two sides focused on resolution of the remaining issues along the Line of Actual Control in Eastern Ladakh.
“The Indian side pointed out that the situation along the LAC had been caused by unilateral attempts of Chinese side to alter the status quo and in violation of the bilateral agreements. It was therefore necessary that the Chinese side take appropriate steps in the remaining areas so as to restore peace and tranquility along the LAC in the Western Sector,” the statement added.
China also indicated the talks had failed, with a statement from the Chinese military’s Western Theater Command saying, “India insists on unreasonable and unrealistic demands, adding difficulties to the negotiations”.
A major focus of the Corps Commander-level talks on the Chinese side of the Chushul-Moldo border point in eastern Ladakh was to complete the stalled disengagement at Hot Springs area known as Patrolling Point 15 (PP-15), news agency PTI reported.
The tension between between the two nuclear-armed neighbours increased following a deadly border battle in June last year in the strategically important Galwan river valley in Ladakh.
The latest talks took place in the backdrop of two recent ‘intrusion’ incidents by the Chinese troops – one in the Barahoti sector of Uttarakhand and another in the Tawang sector in Arunachal Pradesh.
(With Inputs from media reports)
