No Forward Movement at 20th Round of Military Talks Between India and China

There was no forward movement at the latest round of India-China military talks towards resolution of the lingering standoff at the remaining friction points along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh, people familiar with the matter said on Thursday.

Senior military commanders of the two sides held the 20th round of talks on October 9 and 10 at Chushul-Moldo border meeting point on the Indian side of the LAC in the region.

The talks were cordial but there was no forward movement on resolution of the pending issues, the people cited above said. It is learnt that in the talks, the Indian side strongly pressed for resolution of the lingering issues at Depsang and Demchok.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Wednesday said the talks were held in an “open and constructive manner” for an early and mutually acceptable resolution of the remaining issues. It said the two sides agreed to maintain the momentum of dialogue and negotiations through the relevant military and diplomatic mechanisms.

“The two sides exchanged views in a frank, open and constructive manner for an early and mutually acceptable resolution of the remaining issues along the LAC in the Western Sector, in accordance with the guidance provided by the national leadership of the two countries, and building on the progress made in the last round of Corps Commanders’ meeting held on August 13-14,” the MEA said in a statement. The Indian and Chinese troops are locked in an over three-year confrontation in certain friction points in eastern Ladakh even as the two sides completed disengagement from several areas following extensive diplomatic and military talks.

India has been maintaining that its ties with China cannot be normal unless there is peace in the border areas. The eastern Ladakh border standoff erupted on May 5, 2020, following a violent clash in the Pangong lake area.

The ties between the two countries nosedived significantly following the fierce clash in the Galwan Valley in June 2020 that marked the most serious military conflict between the two sides in decades. As a result of a series of military and diplomatic talks, the two sides completed the disengagement process in 2021 on the north and south banks of the Pangong lake and in the Gogra area.