India-China talks fail to resolve LAC issue

Ajay Banerjee

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, October 11

Indicating hardening of positions along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), the talks between military commanders of India and China have failed to resolve the pending issues in Eastern Ladakh.

Also read:

Army rejigs tasking of forces along LAC

 LAC talks: India presses for early disengagement

“The Indian side made constructive suggestions for resolving the remaining areas but the Chinese side did not agree and also could not provide any forward-looking proposals. The meeting thus did not result in resolution of the remaining areas,” the Indian Army said on Monday morning.

The talks – the 13th round - ended at 7 pm on Sunday at Moldo garrison of China.

During the meeting, discussions between the two sides focused on resolution of the remaining issues along the LAC in Eastern Ladakh. The Indian side pointed out that the situation along the LAC had been caused by unilateral attempts of the Chinese side to alter the status quo and in violation of the bilateral agreements.

It was necessary that the Chinese side take appropriate steps in the remaining areas so as to restore peace and tranquillity along the LAC. This would also be in accordance with the guidance provided by the two Foreign Ministers in their recent meeting in Dushanbe where they had agreed that the two sides should resolve the remaining issues at the earliest.

On the other hand, the Western Theatre Command of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) on Monday morning opted to blame India.

Referring to the meeting of the military commanders, Senior Colonel Long Shaohua, spokesperson for the Western Theatre Command of the People's Liberation Army, on Monday claimed, “The Chinese side made great efforts to promote the easing and cooling of the border situation and fully demonstrated China’s sincerity of maintaining overall interests of bilateral military relations.”

“The Indian side still persisted in its unreasonable and unrealistic demands, which added difficulties to the negotiations,” he claimed.

“Instead of misjudging the situation, the Indian side should cherish the hard-won situation in China-India border areas,” the PLA spokesperson said.  

Sources in the Indian side said the discussion insisted on restoring status quo as on April 2020.