India, China agree to hold next round of military talks over Ladakh standoff soon

India and China held diplomatic talks on Tuesday, May 31, and agreed to hold the next round of talks between senior military commanders over the issues along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) at the earliest to create conditions for the restoration of normalcy in bilateral relations.

In a statement, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said the Additional Secretary (East Asia) in MEA led the Indian side while the Director-General of Boundary & Oceanic Department of the Chinese Foreign Ministry led the Chinese delegation at the 24th meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation & Coordination on India-China Border Affairs (WMCC). 

The MEA stated, “The two sides reviewed the situation along Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Western Sector of India-China border areas. They recalled that since the last meeting in November 2021, both sides have held the 14th and 15th meetings of Senior Commanders in January and March 2022, respectively.”

It further mentioned that in March 2022, China’s Foreign Minister, Wang Yi, visited India and held discussions with the External Affairs Minister and the National Security Adviser.

“The two sides exchanged views on the current situation along the LAC in the Western Sector in Eastern Ladakh. They agreed that as instructed by the two Foreign Ministers, both sides should continue the discussions through diplomatic and military channels to resolve remaining issues along LAC and create conditions for the restoration of normalcy in bilateral relations", it stated. 

The MEA stated that with an aim to achieve the objective of complete disengagement from all friction points along LAC in the western sector, the two sides agreed to hold the next round of Senior Commanders’ meetings at an early date. 

Ladakh standoff

The root cause of the unresolved situation in Ladakh is an ill-defined, 3,440km (2,100-mile)-long disputed border. Both sides have continued the military and diplomatic engagements to resolve the situation and to ensure peace and tranquillity in the border areas. The first official acknowledgement of border tensions came on May 10, 2020, when the Army issued a statement about clashes between Indian and Chinese patrols at two places, Naku La in Sikkim and the Pangong Tso lake area.

(Image: PTI)