India And China To Hold Next Round Of Military Talks At The Earliest

India and China had “constructive” diplomatic talks on Thursday about ways to settle the remaining issues and end all military activity in eastern Ladakh. However, there were no clear signs of a major breakthrough. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said that both sides agreed that the next meeting of senior commanders should happen as soon as possible in order to reach the “objective.” They also agreed that the situation on the ground should be stable and that nothing bad should happen.

It said that both sides looked at the situation and had a “open, constructive, and in-depth” conversation about ways to solve the remaining problems and end all military activity in eastern Ladakh.

The talks were held online as part of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on Border Affairs between India and China (WMCC).

The Indian group was led by Gourangalal Das, who is a Joint Secretary (East Asia) in the Ministry of External Affairs. The director-general of boundary and oceanic affairs in the Chinese foreign ministry was in charge of the Chinese team.

“The two sides reviewed the situation along the LAC in the Western Sector of the India-China border areas, and engaged in an open, constructive and in-depth discussion of proposals to resolve the remaining issues and achieve complete disengagement in eastern Ladakh,” the MEA stated in a statement.

“They further agreed on the need to maintain peace and tranquillity along the border areas, ensure a stable situation on the ground and avoid any untoward incident,” it stated.

“The two sides agreed to continue dialogue through military and diplomatic channels and hold the next round of the senior commanders’ meeting at the earliest in order to achieve the above objective,” the MEA stated.

The Indian side pushed hard for a solution to the problems at Depsang and Demchok during the last round of military talks in October.

Indian and Chinese troops have been fighting in some trouble spots in eastern Ladakh for more than three years, even though both sides have pulled their troops out of several areas after long diplomatic and military talks.

Indian leaders have said that relations with China can’t be normal until there is peace along the border.

On May 5, 2020, there was a standoff at the eastern Ladakh border after a fight in the Pangong lake area.

After the fierce fight in the Galwan Valley in June  2020, relations between the two countries took a big hit. It was the worst military conflict between the two in decades.

Military and diplomatic talks between the two sides led to the end of the disengagement process in 2021 on the north and south sides of Pangong Lake and in the Gogra area.