Border dispute: India, China to hold 8th military talks next week

New Delhi: Military delegates from India and China will hold talks for the eighth time next week to resolve the border dispute in Eastern Ladakh.

Earlier, the talks had ended in deadlock with no sign of de-escalation of force along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) even with winter setting in, leaving soldiers exposed to minus 30-degree Celsius temperature.

This time, Lieutenant General P.G.K. Menon will lead the discussions from the Indian side, while Joint Secretary from the Ministry of External Affairs, Navin Srivastava, will also be part of the delegation.

Menon took over the charge of the 14 Corps Commander in mid October after his predecessor Lieutenant General Harinder Singh was transferred to the Indian Military Academy (IMA) where he would be in charge of training the future generations of Army officers.

Both the countries' top military commanders met seven times in a bid to resolve the six-month-long standoff along the LAC. The last meeting took place on October 12 and that too ended in a deadlock.

After the meeting, the Indian Army had issued a statement saying that the two sides had a sincere, in-depth and constructive exchange of views on disengagement along the Line of Actual Control in the Western Sector of India-China border areas.

"They were of the view that these discussions were positive, constructive and had enhanced the understanding of each other's positions," the Indian Army had said.

The force had also said that both sides agreed to maintain dialogue and communication through military and diplomatic channels, and arrive at a mutually acceptable solution for disengagement as early as possible.

On August 30, India had occupied critical mountain heights on the southern bank of the Pangong Lake like Rechin La, Rezang La, Mukpari and Tabletop that were unmanned till then. India has also made some deployments near the Blacktop. The movement was carried out after the Chinese troopers tried to make a provocative military move.

Now, dominance at these 13 peaks allows India to dominate the Spangur Gap under Chinese control and also the Moldo garrison on the Chinese side.

India and China are engaged in a six-month-long standoff along the LAC. Despite several levels of dialogue, there has not been any breakthrough and the deadlock continues.