JOIN USThe standoff between the border guards of India and China at Chumar in Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir remained unresolved even as Beijing’s envoy to New Delhi, Le Yucheng, had a meeting with senior officials of the Ministry of External Affairs here on Wednesday.
Le met Pradeep Kumar Rawat, joint secretary (East Asia) of the Ministry of External Affairs, at the South Block. He later told a TV channel that the current standoff along the LAC would be resolved soon.
The government remained tightlipped on Le’s meeting with Rawat, with sources claiming that they did not discuss the situation along the LAC but exchanged views on other issues.
Le’s meeting with Rawat came a day after MEA spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin told journalists that diplomatic efforts were quietly underway to resolve the situation along the LAC.
Sources in New Delhi said that the situation along the LAC remained unchanged. Though some reports suggested that some PLA and PAP personnel had withdrawn from a location known as 30R point and retreated, official sources did not confirm the retreat.
The standoff began just before Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to India even as soldiers of People’s Liberation Army and People’s Armed Police transgressed the LAC and took positions at two locations in areas claimed by India. The Indian Army and Indo-Tibetan Border Police personnel responded to the move.
The face-off continued even as Xi had meetings with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Ahmedabad and New Delhi.