Both sides agreed to maintain dialogue and communication through military and diplomatic channels.
New Delhi:
The eighth round of commander-level meeting between India and China held in Chusul earlier this week has remained inconclusive. The government today said another meeting will be held soon. In a communique for the media, the government said the two sides had a “candid, in-depth and constructive exchange of views on disengagement along the Line of Actual Control in the Western Sector of India-China border areas”.
“Both sides agreed to earnestly implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, ensure their frontline troops to exercise restraint and avoid misunderstanding and miscalculation. Both sides agreed to maintain dialogue and communication through military and diplomatic channels, and, taking forward the discussions at this meeting, push for the settlement of other outstanding issues, so as to jointly maintain peace and tranquillity in the border areas,” the statement read.
A resolution to the situation in Ladakh – where India has been pressing for total disengagement, de-escalation, and restoration of status quo ante in all areas of eastern Ladakh prior to April — has so far proved elusive.
China not only left the disengagement process – started after the National Security Advisor-level talks in August — halfway, but also undertook provocative action meant to change the status quo on the ground through fresh transgressions near Pangong lake.
Asked about the six-month-long military standoff, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Anurag Srivastava recently said both sides continue to maintain close communication at the military and diplomatic levels to achieve complete disengagement along the Line of Actual Control, the de facto border between the two nations.
“The two sides are guided by the leaders’ consensus to jointly safeguard peace and tranquility in the border areas. We will continue to maintain the dialogue with the Chinese side to arrive at a mutually acceptable solution to the current situation along the LAC in eastern Ladakh,” he said.