Indian, Chinese armies term 8th round of military talks candid, constructive

The eighth round of military talks on the Ladakh standoff with the Chinese PLA was candid, in-depth and constructive, the Indian Army said on Sunday, amid no signs of a concrete breakthrough on disengagement of troops in the high-altitude region.

In a joint statement, the two armies said it was agreed to earnestly implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries and ensure that the frontline troops exercise restraint and avoid misunderstanding and miscalculation.

The statement released both in Beijing and New Delhi said both sides agreed to maintain dialogue and communication through military and diplomatic channels, and take forward the discussions for the settlement of outstanding issues.

The Indian Army and China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) held the eighth round of talks in Chushul on the Indian side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh on Friday. The talks lasted for around ten-and-half hours.At the talks, the two armies also agreed to have another round of meeting soon.

The statement said the two sides had a candid, in-depth and constructive exchange of views on disengagement along the LAC 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 exercise restraint and avoid misunderstanding and miscalculation,” the statement said.

“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,” it added

Nearly 50,000 Indian Army troops are currently deployed in a high state of combat readiness in various mountainous locations in eastern Ladakh in sub-zero conditions as multiple rounds of talks between the two sides have not yielded concrete outcome to resolve the standoff. China has also deployed an equal number of troops, according to officials.

The standoff between the two sides erupted in early May.

At the seventh round of talks too, both sides had agreed to maintain dialogue and communication through military and diplomatic channels to arrive at a mutually acceptable solution for disengagement “as early as possible”.

India has all along been maintaining that the onus is on China to carry forward the process of disengagement and de-escalation at the friction points in the mountainous region.