India, China resolve to defuse LAC tension, won’t add troops

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, September 22

In what appears to be the first step towards resolving the 20-week military standoff along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh, India and China have agreed not to send more troops to the frontline and refrain from unilaterally changing the ground situation.

A joint statement was issued on Tuesday, detailing the outcome of the meeting of senior military commanders in Ladakh on Monday.

PLA ‘doubled’ bases post doklam

• 34 PLA military infrastructure bases now exist along the 3,448-km LAC
• 10 of these are airbases, 10 helicopter bases, eight electronic warfare guiding bases and six air-defence bases
• 15 of these 34 bases form a sort of ring around Ladakh
• 19 of these have been set up or upgraded since 2019 related report: back page

In New Delhi, this is being seen as the first step to defuse the tension at the LAC as both sides have issued matching statements.

The two sides also agreed to hold the seventh round of commander-level meeting as soon as possible and also take practical measures to solve problems on the ground and jointly safeguard peace and tranquillity in border areas.

The statement said India and China agreed “to avoid taking any actions that may complicate the situation”. It said the two sides had candid and in-depth exchange of views on stabilising the situation along the LAC.