New Delhi (NVI): Amid an escalating border row, India and China in the sixth round of senior commanders’ meeting have agreed to strengthen communication on the ground, avoid misunderstandings and misjudgments, stop sending more troops to the frontline, according to a joint statement, released by the Indian Army.
Top military commanders of India and China held another round of talks yesterday, aimed at defusing the situation which threatens to escalate.
The Lieutenant General-level meeting was held on the Chinese side of the LAC, near the traditional Chinese Border Post in Moldo in the eastern Ladakh sector. A Joint Secretary from the Ministry of External Affairs was also part of the Indian delegation.
According a joint statement released by the Army, the two sides had candid and in-depth exchanges of views on stabilizing situation along LAC in India – China border areas. They also agreed to refrain from unilaterally changing situation on ground, and avoid taking any actions that may complicate the situation.
The two sides also agreed to hold the next (seventh) round of military commander-level meeting as soon as possible, “take practical measures to properly solve problems on the ground, and jointly safeguard peace and tranquility in the border area.”
This was the sixth round of military level talks between the two sides since China launched aggression in May to change the status quo on the LAC.
The tense faceoff has already seen an incident of physical combat on June 15, in which India lost 20 soldiers, including a Colonel. Chinese soldiers also died in the incident but the Chinese government has not revealed the numbers.
An incident of Chinese troops firing in the air, first such instance in 45 years, also took place on August 29 after an attempt by the Peoples Liberation Army of China to evict Indian troops from a hill top was thwarted.
The earlier rounds of talks, including at the levels of National Security Advisers, Foreign Ministers and Defence Ministers, have not yielded the desired results due to China’s belligerence.
The statement comes more than a week after Indian and Chinese foreign ministers reached an agreement in Moscow on a five-point agreement to resolve the border standoff.
In a meeting between Foreign Minister S Jaishankar and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Moscow on September 10 on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meet, the two sides had reached a five-point agreement on defusing tensions.
The agreement included measures like quick disengagement of troops, avoiding action that could escalate tensions, adherence to all agreements and protocols on border management and steps to restore peace along the LAC.
However, China has not implemented the agreement, nor is it showing any inclination to do so.
India has been maintaining that the tensions can reduce once China sincerely undertakes complete disengagement and pulls back its troops from all the friction points. However, China, instead of withdrawing its Army, has been scaling up the number of its troops and military hardware along the LAC. India too has carried out the mirror deployment of troops and weapon systems to meet any eventuality.
As the standoff seems to be a long haul, the Indian Army has made appropriate arrangements for its troops to see through the extreme winter conditions in the mountainous border areas, including special winter clothing and tents.
-ARK
