Beijing diverts from agenda, LAC talks fail

Ajay Banerjee

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, October 11

Indicating hardening of positions on the issue of troop build-up along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh, the 13th round of talks between military commanders of India and China failed to make any breakthrough.

Edit: India-China impasse

Claim & counter-claim

India: Chinese side was not agreeable (to constructive proposals put forth by India) and and could not provide any forward-looking proposals.

China: The Indian side persisted with its ‘unreasonable and unrealistic’ demands, thus adding difficulties to the negotiations.

Both countries issued separate statements, blaming each other for the deadlock. Sources said China diverted from the laid down agenda for the talks — disengaging from Patrolling Point 15 (Hot Springs). The Ministry of Defence said: “The Indian side made constructive suggestions for resolving the remaining areas (of friction along the LAC), but the 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.”

The 13th round of military talks (since June 6, 2020) ended at 7 pm last night at Moldo garrison of China. The Indian side said the situation along the LAC was the result of unilateral attempts by China to alter the status quo in violation of various bilateral agreements. It was necessary that the Chinese side took appropriate steps in the remaining areas to restore peace along the LAC.

The Indian side has been insisting on restoring status quo, as on April 2020.

The Western Theatre Command of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), however, blamed India for the failure of talks. Spokesperson for the PLA’s Western Theatre Command Senior Colonel Long Shaohua claimed, “The Chinese side made great efforts to promote easing of the border situation and fully demonstrated China’s sincerity of maintaining overall interests of bilateral military relations.”

“The Indian side persisted in its unreasonable and unrealistic demands, which added difficulties to the negotiations… Instead of misjudging the situation, the Indian side should cherish the hard-won situation in China-India border areas,” he said.