Handout image provided by the Indian Army on Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2021. Indian and Chinese troops and tanks separated from the shores of the Pangong Lake area in eastern Ladakh.
After a hiatus of more than three months, India and China are holding another round of high-level military talks on Wednesday to resolve the 20-month-long military standoff in the remaining friction points in eastern Ladakh, sources in the security establishment said. .
He said the 14th round of Corps Commander-level talks is being held at the Chushul-Moldo border point on the Chinese side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh. The Senior Supreme Military Commander level (SHMCL) talks were scheduled to begin at around 9:30 am. It is learned that the main focus of the talks will be on decolonization in the Hot Springs area.
The Indian delegation in the talks is being led by Lt Gen Anindya Sengupta, the newly appointed Commander of 14 Corps based in Leh. The Chinese team was to be led by Major General Yang Lin, Chief of the South Xinjiang Military District.
The Indian side is expected to insist on early dissolution of all remaining friction points, including resolution of the issues at Depsang Bulge and Demchok.
The 13th round of talks was held on 10 October and they ended in a deadlock. Both sides failed to make any progress in talks with the Indian Army after the talks, stating that the “constructive suggestions” made by it were neither acceptable to the Chinese side nor could it provide any “forward” proposals. Was.
The fresh talks come days after India targeted China for building a bridge over Pangong Lake in eastern Ladakh, saying it is in an area that has been under illegal occupation of that country for nearly 60 years.
Last week, India described China’s renaming of some places in Arunachal Pradesh as a “ridiculous exercise” to support “untenable territorial” claims, saying the state has always been and always is India’s The “immutable” part will remain.
In their virtual diplomatic talks on 18 November, India and China agreed to hold the 14th round of military talks at the earliest to achieve the objective of complete disengagement in the remaining friction points in eastern Ladakh.
The eastern Ladakh border standoff between Indian and Chinese armies began on May 5, 2020, following violent clashes in the Pangong Lake areas. Both sides gradually increased their deployment by carrying thousands of soldiers as well as heavy weapons.
As a result of a series of military and diplomatic talks, the two sides last year completed the demilitarization process on the northern and southern shores of Pangong Lake and in the Gogra region. Each side currently has around 50,000 to 60,000 troops along the LAC in the sensitive area.
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