‘Chinese Side Not Agreeable, Couldn’t Provide Forward-Looking Proposals’: India Says No Resolution in 13th Round of Military Talks
The thirteenth round of Corps Commander-level talks between India and China in Moldo lasted for around eight-and-a-half hours, and focused at discussions on resolving the military standoff between armies of the two countries in the Eastern Ladakh sector.
Government sources had earlier told News18 that the high-level military talks will focus on making some forward movement in the disengagement process in the remaining friction points in eastern Ladakh.
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The talks were held at the Moldo border point on the Chinese side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh. Army chief General MM Naravane had earlier said the Chinese have been building infrastructure on their side of the region which suggests that “they are there to stay”.
In a statement, the army said: “During the meeting the discussions between the two sides focussed on resolution of the remaining issues along the LAC 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 tranquillity along the LAC in the Western Sector.”
It added: “This would also be in accord with the guidance provided by the two Foreign Ministers in their recent meeting in Dushanbe where they had agreed that the two sides should resolve the remaining issues at the earliest. The Indian side emphasised such resolution of the remaining areas would facilitate progress in the bilateral relations.”
However, the army said while the Indian side “made constructive suggestions for resolving the remaining areas”, “Chinese side was not agreeable and also could not provide any forward-looking proposals. The meeting thus did not result in resolution of the remaining areas.”
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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.”
China, meanwhile, blamed India for the stalemate. Quoting the PLA Western Theater Command, state-affiliated Global Times said: “China and India held the 13th round of corps commander-level talks on Sunday. India insists on unreasonable and unrealistic demands, adding difficulties to the negotiations.”
The 13th round of talks 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.
Indian and Chinese troops were engaged in a brief face-off near Yangtse in the Tawang sector of Arunachal Pradesh last week and it was resolved within few hours following talks between commanders of the two sides as per established protocols.
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