No deal in last 5 rounds, Indian & Chinese commanders to meet again over LAC stand-off

New Delhi: The senior military commanders of India and China will soon meet again to hold the 22nd round of negotiations to resolve the four-year-long stand-off along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) – the de facto boundary between the two nations – in eastern Ladakh.

Though a meeting of the senior diplomats of India and China in Beijing on Wednesday concluded without an immediate breakthrough, the two sides agreed that the military commanders would again meet soon and try to reach agreements for mutual withdrawal of troops from the remaining face-off points along the LAC in eastern Ladakh.

The two sides had an in-depth exchange of views on how to achieve complete disengagement and resolve the remaining issues along the LAC in the western sector of India-China border areas, according to a press release issued by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in New Delhi on Thursday. “In the interim, both sides agreed to maintain regular contact through diplomatic and military channels and on the need to uphold peace and tranquillity on the ground in the border areas in accordance with existing bilateral agreements and protocols,” the MEA added.

The 29th meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs was held even as the military stand-off along the LAC in eastern Ladakh was set to enter the fifth year soon. China also repeatedly asserted its claim on Arunachal Pradesh of India during the past few weeks.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the communist country’s government stated in Beijing on Thursday that the meeting of the Indian and Chinese diplomats had ended with the agreement to hold another round of talks between the military commanders at an early date. The two sides agreed to focus on the relevant issues on the ground along the border, reach a solution acceptable to both sides as soon as possible, and promote the transition of the border situation into a normalized phase of control and management, according to a statement issued in Beijing. It added that both sides had positively evaluated the progress made in the management and control of the situation in the China-India border areas and had a candid and in-depth exchange of views on the ideas of work for the next stage.

It was during the 16th round of negotiation between the military commanders on July 17, 2022, that the two sides had last reached an agreement for the disengagement of troops. The Indian Army and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army had withdrawn frontline troops from Patrolling Point 15 on the LAC. But the last few rounds of negotiations between the military commanders of the two nations had failed to result in a breakthrough on the remaining face-off points.

The soldiers of the Indian Army and the Chinese PLA have been engaged in a military stand-off along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh since April-May 2020. The stand-off reached a flashpoint when the soldiers of the two sides had a violent face-off on June 15, 2020, leading to casualties on both sides.

Though protracted negotiations led to the mutual withdrawal of troops by both the Indian Army and the Chinese PLA from some of the face-off points along the LAC, like Galwan Valley, the northern and southern banks of Pangong Tso, Gogra Post, and Hot Springs, the stand-off could not be resolved completely so far. The PLA troops deployed in Depsang, well inside the territory of India along the LAC with China, are still continuing to block the Indian Army’s access to Patrolling Points 10, 11, 12, 12A, and 13. A face-off is also continuing in Demchok.

There have been occasional escalations of tension in the eastern and middle sectors of the disputed boundary between the two nations too, due to the Chinese PLA’s aggressive moves and quick resistance by the Indian Army. The soldiers of the two countries even had a clash at Yangtse in Arunachal Pradesh on December 9, 2022.