India, China hold 7th meet at border
Press Trust of India
India and China on Monday held the seventh round of high-level military talks with a sole agenda of finalising a roadmap for disengagement of troops from all the friction points in eastern Ladakh.
As the border standoff entered the sixth month, an early resolution to the row appears dim.
The talks at the Corps commander level began at around 12 noon in Chushul on the Indian side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh, official sources said.
The Indian delegation is led by Lt Gen Harinder Singh, the commander of the Leh-based 14 Corps, and includes Naveen Srivastava, Joint Secretary (East Asia) in the Ministry of External Affairs(MEA).
Close to 100,000 Indian and Chinese troops are deployed in eastern Ladakh as both sides are holding their ground and also showing readiness for a long-haul even as diplomatic and military talks to find an amicable solution continue.
The talks in Chushul are underway, the sources said.
Ahead of the talks, the sources said India will press for an early and complete disengagement of troops by China from all the friction points besides demanding restoration of immediate restoration of status quo ante in all areas of eastern Ladakh prior to April. The standoff began on May 5.
The agenda for the talks is to firm up a roadmap for disengagement of troops from all the
Military vehicles on their way to Leh
friction points in eastern Ladakh, the sources said.
The China Study Group (CSG) comprising Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Chief of Defence Staff Gen Bipin Rawat and three service chiefs on Friday finalised India’s strategy for the military talks. The CSG is India’s key policy making body on China.
The sources said India will strongly oppose any demand by China for withdrawal of Indian troops from several strategic heights on the southern bank of the Pangong lake to kickstart the disengagement process.
During the sixth round of Corps commander talks on September 21, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army(PLA) insisted on withdrawal of
on Saturday.